British regiments at the front : the story of their battle honours

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HOW THE WAR BEGAN

By W. L. COURTNEY. LL.D., and J. M. KENNEDY
THE FLEETS AT WAR

By ARCHIBALD HURD
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By J. M. KENNEDY
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By A. ST. JOHN ADCOCK
GREAT BATTLES OF THE WORLD

By STEPHEN CRANE
Author of "The Red Badge of Courage."

BRITISH REGIMENTS AT THE FRONT

The story of their Battle Honours.

THE RED CROSS IN WAR

By Mis. MARY FRANCES BILLINGTON
FORTY YEARS AFTER

The Story of the Franco-German War. By H. C. BAILEY.
With an lntroduct.cn by W. L. COURTNEY, LL.D.

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BRITISH REGIMENTS
AT THE FRONT

THE STORY OF THEIR BATTLE
HONOURS

BY

REGINALD HODDER

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO

IICMXIV

DA

65-

"4

''

APR 12 1966
106540^

*

The Author wishes to express his indebtedness
to MR. J. NORVILL for his valuable assistance and
suggestions.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER *AG»

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER — NICKNAMES OF
THE REGIMENTS AND HOW TREV

WERE WON - - - 9

I. 5TH DRAGOON GUARDS 4!
II. THE CARABINIERS - - - - 43

III. THE SCOTS GREYS 49

IV. I5TH HUSSARS 57
V. l8TH HUSSARS 6l

VI. THE GRENADIER GUARDS - 63

VII. THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS - 71

VIII. THE ROYAL SCOTS - 76

IX. THE " FIGHTING FIFTH " - 84

X. THE LIVERPOOL REGIMENT 8g

viii CONTENTS

XI. THE NORFOLKS 92

XII. THE BLACK WATCH - - - IOO

XIII. THE MANCHESTER REGIMENT - - 113

XIV. THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS - - Il8
XV. THE CONNAUGHT RANGERS - - 139

XVI. THE ARGYLL AND SUTHERLAND HIGH-
LANDERS 142

XVII. THE DUBLIN FUSILIERS ... 146

XVIII. FUENTES D'ONORO AND ALBUERA - 156

XIX. BALACLAVA AND INKERMAN - - 178

NICKNAMES OF THE REGIMENTS AND
HOW THEY WERE WON

"The Rusty Buckles."

THE 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) got
their name of " The Bays " in 1767 when they
were mounted on bay horses — a thing which
distinguished them from other regiments, which,
with the exception of the Scots Greys, had black
horses. Their nickname, " The Rusty Buckles/'
though lending itself to a ready explanation, is
doubtful as to its origin ; but one thing is certain
that the rust remained on the buckles only
because the fighting was so strenuous and pro-
longed that there was no time to clean it off.

"The Royal Irish."

The 4th Dragoon Guards received this title
in 1788, in recognition of its long service in
Ireland since 1698. The regiment also has the

10 British Regiments at the Front

name of the " Blue Horse " from the blue facings
of the uniform.

"The Green Horse."

The 5th Dragoon Guards were given this name
in 1717 when their facings were changed from
buff to green. Some time later, after Salamanca,
they were also called the " Green Dragoon
Guards/'

"Tichborne's Own."

The 6th Dragoon Guards, or Carabiniers, have
been known as " Tichborne's Own " ever since
the trial of Arthur Orton, as Sir Roger Tich-
borne had served for some time in the regiment.
The name of " Carabiniers " has distinguished
them ever since 1692, when they were armed
with long pistols or " carabins." With these
weapons they did signal work in Ireland in
1690-1.

"Scots Greys."

This regiment, the 2nd Dragoons, has been
known by many names : " Second to None,"
" The Old Greys," " Royal Regiment of Scots

Introductory 11

Dragoons/' (in 1681, when they were commanded
by the famous Claverhouse) ; " The Grey
Dragoons " in 1700, the " Scots Regiment of
White Horses/' the " Royal Regiment of North
British Dragoons " in 1707, the " 2nd Dragoons "
in 1713, and the " 2nd Royal North British
Dragoons " in 1866.

Associated with them and all their different
names is the memorable cry of " Scotland for
ever " — that wild shout they raised as they
charged the French infantry at Waterloo. At
Ramillies they captured the colours of the French
Regiment du Roi and by this gained the right
to wear grenadier caps instead of helmets.
" Bubbly Jocks " is a nickname frequently used
among themselves — a name derived from the
fact that their dress in its general effect is not
unlike that of the " Bubbly Jock " or turkey
cock.

"Lord Adam Gordon's Life Guards."

The 3rd Hussars received this nickname from
the fact that when Lord Adam Gordon com-
manded the regiment in Scotland he kept it
there for such a long time — " for life " so to

12 British Regiments at the Front

speak. When it was raised, in 1685, the regi-
ment was called " The Queen Consort's Regiment
of Dragoons." In 1691 it was known as " Leve-
son's Dragoons." In the time of the George's it
was called variously " King's Own Dragoons " and
" Eland's Horse." In 1818 it was made a " Light
Dragoon " regiment, and it was not until 1861
that it became Hussars.

"Paget's Irregular Horse."

The 4th Hussars received this title on its
return from foreign service, when it was remarked
that its drill was less regular than that of the
other regiments. In 1685 it was called the
" Princess Ann of Denmark's Regiment of Dra-
goons." Like the 3rd it was formed into a
regiment of Hussars in 1861.

"The Red Breasts."

The 5th Lancers, or Royal Irish, are called
"Red Breasts" because of their scarlet facings.
In 1689 they were known as the " Royal Irish
Dragoons," having been raised to assist at the
siege of Londonderry in 1688. They became
the " 5th Royal Irish Lancers " in 1858. This

Introductory 13

regiment has also been called the " Daily Ad-
vertisers," but the derivation of this name is
somewhat obscure.

"The Delhi Spearmen."

The gth Lancers received this name from the
rebels of the Indian Mutiny, against whom they
used their long lances with such deadly effect.
In 1830 they were known as the " Queen's
Royal Lancers," and " Wynne's Dragoons."

" The Cherry Pickers."

The nth Hussars were dubbed " Cherry Pickers"
because some of their men during the Penin-
sular War were taken prisoners in a fruit garden
while supposed to be on outpost duty. They
are known also as " Prince Albert's Own " from
the fact that they formed part of the Prince's
escort from Dover to Canterbury when he arrived
in England in 1840 as the late Queen's chosen
Consort. One hears them sometimes referred
to as the " Cherubims," from their crimson
overalls, busby bag, and crimson and white
plume.

14 British Regiments at the Front

"The Supple 12th."

It was at Salamanca that the I2th Lancers
received this honoured name, because of their
dash and rapid movements.

"The Fighting 15th."

It was at Emsdorf that the I5th Hussars won
this name, and their feat of arms on that field
gained them the privilege to wear on their
helmets the following inscription : " Five bat-
talions of French defeated and taken by this
Regiment with their colours and nine pieces of
cannon at Emsdorf, i6th July, 1760." In
1794, at Villiers-en-Couche, they charged with
the Austrian Leopold Hussars against vastly
superior numbers to protect the person of the
Austrian Emperor. In recognition of this the
then Kaiser presented each of the eight surviving
officers with a medal. In 1799 they received
the Royal honour of decking their helmets with
scarlet feathers. The " Fighting I5th " are also
known in history as " Elliot's Light Horse."

"The Dumpies."

The 2oth Hussars, together with the I9th and
2ist, received the name of " Dumpies " from the

Introductory 15

fact that the regiment when formed of volunteers
from the disbanded Bengal European Cavalry of
the East India Company were short and dumpy.
Though nowadays there is many a giant among
the 20th, the name of " Dumpies " still survives.

« The Mudlarks."

The Royal Engineers received this name
from the nature of their ordinary business in
war. In 1722 they were called the " Soldier
Artificers Corps " ; and, in 1813, " The Royal
Sappers and Miners."

"The Gunners."

The Royal Artillery have held this name from
their regular formation in 1793. Formerly,
after the rebellion in Scotland, they were
known as the " Royal Regiment of Artillery,"
and, though not in any way formed into a regiment,
they date still further back, one might say even
to the early days when guns were made of wood
and leather. That was before 1543, when the first
gun was cast in England. In 1660 the master
gunner was called the " Chief Fire Master ". The
Honourable Artillery Company was founded in

16 British Regiments at the Front

1537 and is the oldest Volunteer Corps in Great
Britain.

"The Sandbags."

The Grenadier Guards gained this peculiar
name from their special privilege of working in
plain clothes for wages at coal or gravel heaving,
and for this same reason they were often called
" Coalheavers " They seem to have got this
name in Flanders, where they excelled at trench
work. Another of their nicknames is " Old
Eyes." In 1657 they were known as the " Royal
Regiment of Guards," and in 1660 as the " King's
Regiment of Guards."

"The Coldstreamers."

The Coldstream Guards received their name in
1666 when Monk marched them from Coldstream
to assist Charles II to regain his throne. They
have been called the " Nulli Secundus Club."
in memory of the fact that Charles, before he hit
on the name " Coldstream Guards," wished to
call them the " 2nd Foot Guards " a thing to
which they strongly objected, saying that they
>vere " second to none,"

Introductory 17

"The Jocks."

The origin of this name for the Scots Guards is
obvious. History is a little uncertain about their
record, as their papers were burnt by accident in
1841 ; but this is certain, that they were raised
as Scots Guards in 1639 and were called later the
" Scots Fusilier Guards " and the " 3rd Foot
Guards," after which, in 1877, they resumed the
name of " Scots Guards."

«* Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard/'

This strange nickname of the Royal Scots
Regiment is based on an equally strange story.
As long ago as 1637, when most other regiments
were as yet unborn, a dispute arose between the
Royal Scots and the Picardy Regiment on the
point of priority in age. The Picardy Regiment
claimed to have been on duty the night after the
Crucifixion. But the Royal Scots met this with
a withering volley. " Had we been on duty
then/' they said, " we should not have slept at
our post." This incident caused some wag to dub
the Royal Scots " Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard,"
and the name has stuck to them ever since.
There is another tradition that this regiment

18 British Regiments at the Front

represents the body of Scottish Archers, who for
many centuries formed the guard of the French
Kings. It fought in the seven years' war under
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and was incor-
porated in the British Army in 1633. Since then,
whenever war has been declared, every man of
" Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard " has been among
the last to stay at home.

" The Lions."

The Royal Lancaster Regiment bears upon
its colour the Lions of England, disposed, as in
Trafalgar Square, one at each quarter. This
distinction was given them by the Prince of
Orange, as they were the first regiment to
join him in 1688 when he landed at Torbay.
They have also been called " Barrell's Blues "
from their Commander and their blue facings.
They received the title of " King's Own " from
George I., in 1715, and our late King Edward
became their Colonel-in-Chief in 1903. Our
present King is now the Colonel-in-Chief.

w Kirke's Lambs."

The Royal West Surrey Regiment (The Queen's)
derived this name from Kirke and from the

Introductory 19

Paschal Lamb in each of the four corners of
its colour. The name has also an ironical deriva-
tion from the fact that they were employed to
enforce the cruelties of " Bloody Judge Jeffreys."
Another nickname of theirs is the " First Tan-
gerines," because they were raised in 1661 as
the " Tangiers Regiment of Foot," for the purpose
of garrisoning Tangiers, at that time a British
possession. John Churchill, Duke of Marlbor-
ough, began his career in this Regiment. Another
nickname, "Sleepy Queen's" is derived from a
slight omission of theirs at Almeida, when,
through some oversight, they allowed General
Brennier to escape. But they have so far lived
this down that now, Mt lucus a non lucendo, they
are called " sleepy " because they are always
very wide awake.

"The Shiners."

The Northumberland Fusiliers deserve that
name because they are always so spic-an-span.
They also deserve the name of " Fighting Fifth "
because they have many a time proved their
right to it. At the battle of Kirch Denkern
(1761) they captured a whole regiment of French

20 British Regiments at the Front

infantry, and, in the following year, at Wilhelms-
thal, they took twice their own number prisoners.
They have also the name of " Lord Wellington's
Body Guard " because, in 1811, they were
attached to Headquarters. Another name is
" The Old and Bold." On St. George's day the
"Fighting Fifth" wear roses in their caps, but
the origin of this is not clear, unless it may be
that one of their badges is " St. George and the
Dragon/' and another " The Rose and Crown."
They also wear the white feathers of the French
Grenadiers on the anniversary of the battle of
La Vigie, when Comte de Grasse attempted to
relieve the Island of St. Lucia in the West Indies.
On that occasion the " Old and Bold " took the
white plumes from the caps of their defeated
opponents, the French Grenadiers. To-day, the
white in the red and white hackle now worn
by them refers back to that terrible death-
struggle. The 5th is the only foot regiment
which has the distinction of a red and white
pompon. It is worth recording here that they
formed part of a force which repulsed overwhelm-
ing numbers of the enemy on the heights of El
Bodon (1811) during the investment of Ciudad

Introductory 21

Rodigo. The Iron Duke spoke of this achievement
as " a memorable example of what can be done by
steadiness, discipline and confidence."

"The Elegant Extracts."

The word sounds like a fashionable chemical
compound, but its real meaning is derived from
the fact that the officers of the Royal Fusiliers—-
except 2nd Lieutenants and Ensigns, of which
at the time they had none— were " extracted "
from other corps. In the eighteenth century
they were known as the " Hanoverian White
Horse." Those who have lived to remember
the Crimean War will remember also that brave
song, " Fighting with the 7th Royal Fusiliers "
— a song which became so popular that the
regiment could have been recruited four times
over had it been necessary.

" The Leather Hats."

The King's (Liverpool) Regiment gained their
name from their head-gear. They were raised
by James II. in 1685. In the American War
an officer and 40 men of the " Leather Hats "
captured a fort held by 400 of the enemy. It

22 British Regiments at the Front

is interesting to know that this regiment has
an allied regiment of the Australian Common-
wealth— the 8th Australian Infantry Regiment.

"The Holy Boys."

The Norfolk Regiment has had this name
ever since the Peninsular War. In that cam-
paign the Spaniards, seeing the figure of Brit-
annia on the cross-belts of the Qth, thought
that it was a representation of the Virgin Mary.
There is another story to the effect that they
derive their name from their reputed practice
of selling their Bibles to buy drink during the
Peninsular War. But this I do not believe.
Another name for them is the " Fighting Ninth "
— a title which no one can refuse to believe.
Their bravery at the siege of St. Sebastian might
alone justify it.

"The Springers."

The Lincolnshire Regiment received this nick-
name during the American War because they
were remarkable in their readiness to spring
into action when called upon. It was the first
infantry regiment to enter Boer territory during

Introductory 23

the late South African War. Their other name
of ' Lincolnshire Poachers " has no satisfactory
derivation.

"The Bloody Eleventh/'

There are two stories to account for this
nickname of the Devonshire Regiment. One is
that at Salamanca they were in a very sanguinary
condition after the battle. The other is that
when they were in Dublin in 1690 the regiment's
contractor supplied bad meat, on which they
swore that if he did so again they would hang
the butcher. There was no improvement in
the meat, so they hanged the delinquent in
front of his own shop on one of his own meat-
hooks. It is no doubt the first story that is
the true one. Another name for the Devonshires
is " One and All." It was a man in this regiment
who wounded Napoleon at Toulon in 1793.

"The Old Dozen."

The Suffolk Regiment won glory for itself at
the siege of Gibraltar. It also behaved with
the greatest gallantry at Minden, and that is
why on the ist of August (Minden Day) the

24 British Regiments at the Front

" Old Dozen " parade with a rose in the head-
dress of each man. In connection with this
they are also called the " Minden Boys."

"The Peacemakers."

The Bedfordshire Regiment were first known
as the " Peacemakers " because at that time
there were no battles on its colours. For the
same reason no doubt they were also called
" Bloodless Lambs." Another nickname of theirs
is " The Old Bucks "—a title justified by their
hard fighting in the Netherlands under William III.
and also under Marlborough.

"The Bengal Tigers."

The Leicestershire Regiment gets its name
from the Royal Green Tiger on its badge. This
distinction was given it for a brilliant achieve-
ment in the Nepal War of 1814, when they cap-
tured a Standard bearing a tiger. They are
also called " Lily Whites," from their white
facings.

"The Green Howards."

The Yorkshire Regiment was commanded by
Colonel Howard, and has green facings. They

Introductory 25

are also called " Howard's Garbage," and must
not be confused with the 24th Foot, also once
commanded by a Colonel Howard, and styled
" Howard's Greens."

" The Earl of Mar's Grey BreeW

The Royal Scots Fusiliers received this name
from the colour of their breeches at the time
the regiment was raised in 1678. " The Grey
Breeks " wear a white plume in their head-dress
— an honour bestowed in recognition of their
services during the Boer War.

"The Lightning Conductors."

There is some doubt as to how the Cheshire
Regiment acquired this name. But it may be
connected in some way with the fact that at
Dettingen, when George II. was attacked by
the French Cavalry, they formed round him
under an oak tree and drove the enemy off.
In remembrance of this occasion the oak leaf
is worn by them at all inspections and reviews
in obedience to the wish of George II. when he
plucked a leaf from the tree and handed it to
the Commander, They are also known as the

26 British Regiments at the Front

" Two Twos " from their number, the 22nd.
Another of their names is " The Red Knights,"
because, when recruiting at Chelmsford in 1795,
red jackets, breeches and waistcoats were served
out to them instead of the proper uniform.
This regiment, under the name of the " Soulsburg
Grenadiers," was under Wolfe when he was
mortally wounded at Quebec.

"The Nanny Goats."

The Royal Welsh Fusiliers are known as
" Nanny Goats " or " Royal Goats " because
they always have a goat, with shields and gar-
lands on its horns, marching bravely at the
head of the drum. This has been their custom
for over a hundred years. A glance at the back
of their tunics reveals a small piece of silk
known as a " flash." It has been there ever
since the days when its office was to keep the
powdered pigtail from soiling the tunic. The
King is Colonel-in-Chief of the " Nanny Goats."

"Howard's Greens."

The South Wales Borderers were at one time
commanded by a Colonel Howard. It was a

Introductory 27

company of this regiment which achieved immortal
glory at Rorke's Drift, which they defended
against 3,000 Zulus. In Africa they gained no
less than eight V.C.'s. On the Queen's colour of
each battalion may be seen a silver wreath. This
was bestowed by Queen Victoria in memory of
Lieutenants Melville and Coghill, who died to
save the colours at Isandlhwana.

"The Botherers."

The King's Own Scottish Borderers — the only
regiment that was allowed to beat up for recruits
in Edinburgh without asking the Lord Provost's
permission— were called " Botherers," partly on
this account and partly by corruption from
" Borderers." They bear also the name of
" Leven's Regiment," from the remarkable fact
that in 1689 they were raised by the Earl of Leven
in Edinburgh, in the space of four hours. They
are also known as the " K.O.B.s."

"The Cameronians."

The ist Battalion of the Scottish Rifles are the
descendants of the Glasgow Cameronian Guard
which was raised during the Revolution of 1688

28 British Regiments at the Front

from the Cameronians, a strict set of Presby-
terians founded by Archibald Cameron, the
martyr. The 2nd Battalion is known as " Sir
Thomas Graham's Perthshire Grey Breeks." It
received this name from the fact that when Lord
Moira ordered the regiment to be equipped and
trained as a Light Infantry Corps, their uniforms
consisted of a red jacket faced with buff, over a
red waistcoat, with buff tights and Hessians for
the officers, and light grey pantaloons for the
men. Both battalions now wear dark green
doublets and tartan " trews."

"The Slashers."

The Gloucestershire Regiment derives its name
of " Slashers " from its achievements in the battle
of the White Plains in 1777. There is another
story, however, that the name arose from a
report that, on one occasion, a magistrate having
refused shelter to the women of the regiment
during a severe winter, some of the officers
disguised themselves as Indians and slashed
off both his ears. In Torres Straits there is
a reef which is marked on the charts as the
" Slashers' Reef " because, after the Khyber Pass

Introductory 29

disaster of 1842, the " Slashers " were on the way
from Australia to India when the transport con-
veying them grounded on this reef. Their other
name of the " Old Braggs " is derived from their
Commander, General Braggs, of 1734. In regard
to this there is the tradition of an order given by
a wag of a Colonel when the " Old Braggs " were
brigaded with other regiments with Royal Titles.
The order runs :

" Neither Kings nor Queens nor Royal Marines,
But 28th Old Braggs ;
Brass before and brass behind ;
Ne'er feared a foe of any kind,—
Shoulder arms ! "

"The Vein Openers."

The Worcestershire Regiment were dubbed
" The Vein Openers " by the people of Boston,
(U.S.A.) in 1770, because they were the first to
draw blood in the preliminary disturbances before
the war. After the Peninsular War they were
called " Old and Bold.'' Another name for them
is " Star of the Line," from the eight-pointed star
on their pouches — a distinction peculiarly their
own. The 2nd Battalion were known as the

30 British Regiments at the Front

" Saucy Greens " from the colour of their facings
and, presumably, their extreme sauciness.

"The Young Buffs."

The ist Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment
derived their nickname from a peculiar royal
mistake. At the battle of Dettingen, King
George II., mistaking them for the " 3rd Buffs,"
called out " Bravo Old Buffs ! " Being reminded
that they were not the " Old Buffs " but the 3ist,
His Majesty at once corrected his cry to " Bravo,
Young Buffs ! " and the name has stuck to the
battalion ever since. The 2nd Battalion was
raised at Glasgow in 1756 and takes its name of
" Glasgow Greys " from that and the facings of
the uniform.

"The Red Feathers."

The 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's
Light Infantry gained their nickname by a signal
act of defiant heroism. During the American
War of Independence they learned that the
enemy had marked them down as men to whom
no quarter was to be given. On this the Light
Company, wishing to restrict the full force

Introductory 31

of this threat to themselves, and to prevent
others suffering by mistake, stained their plume
feathers red as a distinguishing mark. For
this fine act they were authorised to wear a
red feather, and this honour is perpetuated in
the red cloth of the helmet and cap badge and the
red pughri worn on foreign service. Their other
nickname " The Lacedaemonians " has a dash
of grim humour in its origin. During the same
war, at the time of all times when the men were
under a withering fire, their Colonel made a long
speech to them — all about the Lacedaemonians,
a brave race enough, but terribly ignorant of
rifle fire.

"The Havercake Lads."

The West Riding Regiment (The Duke of
Wellington's) is said to have derived its nickname
from the fact that the recruiting sergeants in the
old days carried an oat cake on the points of their
swords. There is a joke among " The Haver-
cakes " as old as their first recruiting sergeant.
This enterprising man was in the habit of address-
ing the Yorkshire crowd as follows : " Come,
my lads ; don't lose your time listening to what

32 British Regiments at the Front

them foot sojers says about their ridgements.
List in my ridgement and you'll be all right.
Their ridgements are obliged to march on foot,
but my ridgement is the gallant 33rd, the First
Yorkshire West Riding Ridgement, and when
ye join headquarters ye'll be all mounted on
horses."

The 2nd Battalion is known as " The Im-
mortals," from the fact that in the Indian wars
under Lord Lake every man bore the marks
of wounds. They were also called " The Seven
and Sixpennies " from their number (76th)
and from the fact that seven and sixpence
represented a lieutenant's pay.

"The Orange Lilies."

The ist Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regi-
ment was named " The Orange Lilies " from
their early facings, orange, a mark of favour
from William III., in 1701, and the white plume
taken from the Roussillon French Grenadiers at
Quebec in 1759. They were originally called
" The Belfast Regiment " then " The Prince of
Orange's Own." The orange facings were re-
placed by blue in 1832, and the white plumes

Introductory 33

disappeared in 1810 ; but the white (Roussillon)
plume is still a badge of the Royal Sussex.

"The Pump and Tortoise,"

The ist Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment
earned half their nickname from their extreme
sobriety and the other half from the slow way
they set about their work when actually stationed
at Malta. The 2nd Battalion is known as " The
Staffordshire Knots."

" Sankey's Horse."

The 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, under
Colonel Sankey in 1707, arrived at Almanza
during the battle mounted on mules, hence the
term " Sankey's Horse," applied to a foot regi-
ment. They were the first King's regiment to
land in India, in memory of which they have for
their motto " Primus in Indis." In 1742 the
regiment was popularly known as " The Green
Linnets " from the " sad green " facings of its
uniform. The 2nd Battalion acquired the name
of " The Flamers " from their large share in the
destruction of the town and stores of New London,
together with twelve privateers, by fire in 1781.

34 British Regiments at the Front

"The Excellers."

This name was fastened upon the ist Battalion
South Lancashire Regiment from its number (XL
the 40 th). It is also known as " The Fighting
Fortieth." Until its amalgamation with the
82nd it had the honour of being next to the
Royal Scots in the number of battle honours on
its colour.

" The 1st Invalids."

The ist Battalion Welsh Regiment is set down
in old Army Lists under this name because it was
first raised as a regiment of Invalids, in 1719. In
George II' s, time it was known as " War dour 's
Regiment." The nickname of the 2nd Battalion
is a curious play on words — or rather figures.
They are called the " Ups and Downs " because
their number (69th) reads the same when inverted.
The 69th are also called " The Old Agamemnons,"
a fancy title bestowed on them by Lord Nelson
at St. Vincent after the name of his ship, on which
a detachment was serving as marines.

"The Black Watch."

The Royal Highlanders won this honoured

Introductory 35

name from the sombre colour of their tartan some
ten years before their Highland Companies were
formed into a regiment known as " The Highland
Regiment." Its first Colonel, Lord Crawford,
being a lowlander, had no family tartan, so, it is
said, this special tartan was devised. The bright
colours in the various tartans are said to have
been extracted, leaving only the dark green
ground. The French, under the impression that
in their own mountainous country they ran wild
and naked, called them " Sauvages d'Ecosse."
The red hackle in their bonnets was won at
Guildermalsen in 1794.

"The Cauliflowers."

The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment have
this nickname from the former colour of the
facings of the ist Battalion. They are also
called "The Lancashire Lads." After Quebec
the 47th were nicknamed " Wolfe's Own " and
to this day the officers of both battalions wear
a black worm in their lace gold as a sign of sorrow
for their general's death. This is the only
regiment that is officially styled " Loyal," the

36 British Regiments at the Front

2nd Battalion having been known prior to 1881
as the 8ist (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers).

"The Steelbacks."

This is the name applied to the Northampton-
shire Regiment because of the unflinching way
in which they took their floggings. While under
Wellington in the Peninsular War one, Hovenden,
a private, was flogged for breach of discipline.
At the twentieth stroke he fainted and this
so disgusted his comrades that on his recovery
they cut him dead. Much annoyed at this
Hovenden marched up to the Colonel and called
him a fool, and for this he was ordered to be
flogged again. That night the regiment was
attacked by the French, and Hovenden, evading
the guard, arrived on the battlefield in time to
see his Colonel captured by the enemy. With
his musket he shot down the captors and then
liberated the Colonel and bound up his wounds.
After this he returned to make sure of his flogging,
but was struck by a bullet and killed.

The Northamptonshires have also the honoured
name, " Heroes of Talavera," because they turned
the tide of battle on that victorious day.

Introductory 37

"The Blind Half Hundred."

The ist Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment
suffered greatly from ophthalmia in Egypt in
1801, hence this nickname. They were called
also "The Dirty Half Hundred" because the
men, when in action in hot weather, used to
wipe their faces with their black cuffs, with
obvious results. Another of their names is
" The Devil's Royals," and yet another " The
Gallant 5oth"— this last because at Vimiera, in
1807, 900 of them routed 5,307 of the enemy.

"The Kolis."

The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
derive their name of " Kolis " from their initials.
The name often takes the corrupted form of
" Goalies."

"The Die-Hards."

The ist Battalion Duke of Cambridge's Own
(Middlesex Regiment) were styled " Die Hards "
from the memorable words of Inglis at Albuera :
" Die hard, my men ; die hard ! " — words which
were endorsed by Stanley at Inkerman when he
said : " Die hard ! Remember Albuera ! " The

38 British Regiments at the Front

2nd Battalion are called " The Pothooks," from
their number (77).

4<The Royal American Provincials."

This distinguished popular name was bestowed
on the King's Royal Rifle Corps because they
were raised in America.

""The Bloodsuckers."

The Manchester Regiment appear to have
acquired this name from general and warlike
reasons. The ist Battalion displayed great
courage and steadiness in the defence of Lady-
smith. The 2nd Battalion was formerly the
41 Minorca Regiment " and became part of the
Line in 1804 as the 97th (Queen's German)
Regiment, becoming later the 96th Foot.

<€The Strada Reale Highlanders."

The Gordon Highlanders (92nd and 75th) would
propound a riddle to you : What is the difference
between the 92nd and the 75th ? The answer
is that the 92nd are real Highlanders, and the
75th are Real(e) Highlanders.

Introductory 39

" The Cia mar tha's."

The Cameron Highlanders owe this nickname
to Sir Allen Cameron, who raised the regiment.
It was his word to everybody : " Cia mar tha ! ""
(How d'ye do !)

"The Garvies."

The Connaught Rangers are called " Garvies "
because their recruits, when first the regiment
was raised, were both lean and raw. Now a
" garvie " is a small herring.

"The Blue Caps."

At the time of the relief of Cawnpore, a despatch
of Nana Sahib was intercepted, containing a
reference to those " blue-capped English soldiers
who fought like devils." These "Blue-Caps"
were the Madras Fusiliers, then a " John Com-
pany " regiment, but now the ist Battalion
Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The name was later
stamped in perpetuity by Havelock, at the bridge
of Charbagh. The question was put to him by
Outram as to who could possibly carry the bridge
under so deadly a fire. " My Blue Caps ! "

40 British Regiments at the Front

replied Havelock, and his faith in them was
justified, for they carried it against overwhelming
odds. The Bombay Fusiliers (another " John
Company " regiment) now the 2nd Battalion
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, have an equally distin-
guished record. They have been known as " The
Old Toughs."

BRITISH REGIMENTS AT THE
FRONT

THE STH DRAGOON GUARDS
(CADOGAN'S HORSE).

THE 5th Dragoon Guards were raised by the Earl
of Shrewsbury to support James against " King
Monmouth " at Sedgmoor. For the same reasons
that " Britons never, never will be slaves," they
refused, on consideration, to support James,
and sided with William, for whom they threw
in their weight at the Boyne. They were also
at a former siege of Namur, and bore themselves
bravely at Blenheim.

The story is told that, after that battle, a
Sunday Church parade was called, in which the
British army deployed to fire a volley of victory,
and Marshal Tallard, who was a prisoner, was

41 »*

42 British Regiments at the Front

reluctantly present on that occasion. After the
volley, the Duke of Marlborough turned to
Tallard, and asked what he thought of the British
army. " Well enough," replied Tallard, shrug-
ging his shoulders, " but the troops they defeated,
why, those are the best soldiers in the world ! "
" If that is so," said the Duke, " what will the
world think of the fellows who thrashed them ? "
All obvious enough, but the Duke would never
have slept quietly in his bed if he had left it
unstated.

At Salamanca, with the 3rd and 4th Light
Dragoons, the 5th Dragoon Guards carved their
way through a treble thickness of French army
columns, under a heavy fire. For this marvellous

achievement " Salamanca " is writ large on their
colours.

THEIR BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.
MOTTO. — "Vestigia nulla retrorsurn."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudfnarde, Malplaquet, Sala-
manca, Vittoria, Toulouse, Peninsula, Balaclava, Sevastopol, S. Africa 1899-
1902, Defence of Ladysmith.

UNIFORM. — Scarlet, dark green facings, red and white plume

THE CARABINIERS
(" TICHBORNE'S OWN.")

" It is your sex that makes us go forth to fight. . . •
It is your sex who cherish our memories/'

Nelson.

THERE is not a woman in our vast Empire who
has not good cause to regard with admiration
and gratitude those noble protectors and terrible
avengers of the honour of their sex — the Cara-
biniers. During the Indian Mutiny — but first
a brief word as to their history.

It dates from the time of Monmouth's rebellion,
when they were raised by Lord Lumley to support
King James. Owing to the fact, however, that
Lord Lumley was no supporter of the king's
tyrannies, the regiment seceded, and later, when
the Prince of Orange landed, threw in their lot
with him whole-heartedly. Their title, "The
Carabiniers," was bestowed upon them in recog-
nition of the great part they played in the battle

43

44 British Regiments at the Front

of the Boyne, for William had in mind the famous
carabiniers of Louis XIV.

In the list of the glories of the Carabiniers is
Aughrim. Macaulay says about this occasion :
" St. Ruth laughed when he saw the Carabiniers
and the Blues struggling through a morass under
a fire which, at every moment, laid some gallant
hat and feather on the earth." " What did they
mean ? " he asked, and then he swore it was
a pity to see such fine fellows marching to certain
destruction. Nevertheless, at the issue of that
business, it was he, and his troops, that reaped
the destruction.

It was some little time later that the Cara-
biniers saved the situation for King William at
Landen, by an obstinate stand against his pur-
suers, while he crossed the bridge. As Corporal
Trim in " Tristram Shandy " says ; " If it had
not been for the regiments of Wyndham, (i.e.,
the Carabiniers) Lumley and Galway, which
covered the retreat over the bridge at Neers-
pecken, the king himself could scarcely have
gained it."

In three continents the Carabiniers have
fought their way to an exalted fame. At

The Carabiniers 45

Ramillies they captured the standard of the Royal
Regiment of Bombardiers of France. . At Mal-
plaquet they measured steel and courage with
the formidable Household Brigade of France
and came out victorious. And from that time
onward their glorious career can be traced through
Europe, Asia and Africa in such clear lines
that the enemy who runs has read.

But it was during the time of the Indian
Mutiny that they performed feats of valour for
which we British men, as well as the women,
owe them heartfelt gratitude. They were among
the reinforcements sent out to stay the terrible
tide of massacre and rapine. How they struggled
for life and empire at Delhi ; repulsed the rebels
outside Lucknow with fearful carnage, with loss
of their leader ; and, finally, when Lucknow
had fallen, pursued the rebels with relentless
wrath, dealing vengeance with a heavy hand-
all this has been written by many pens. It has
been the theme to make the driest book most
vivid reading. It was the story of stern, ruthless
punishment and revenge for the horrible crimes
committed by the then unregenerate Sepoy
against helpless women and children — crimes

46 British Regiments at the Front

of torture,, murder, wholesale massacre, and
unconceivable outrage.

One has only to remember the horrible atrocities
of the Indian Mutiny to acquit the Carabiniers of
any charge of undue ferocity ; one has only to
remember Cawnpore, and the women and the
babies, in order to admire their offices of stern,
relentless retribution. And all this happened
at the very time when all London was celebrating
the centenary of the sublime victory of Plassey,
and the brilliant acquisition of the Indian Empire
under the genius of Give.

When, at Meerut, on that never-to-be-forgotten
Sunday, they pursued the fiends responsible for
that awful massacre, the Carabiniers, together
with the 6oth Rifles drew a very determined
line between righteous revenge and feeble long-
sufferance ; between just wrath, that ever-poten-
tial factor in heroic blood : primitive wrath, and
its cognate barbarity of act. " Remember the
women ! Remember the babies ! " ran through
the ranks on that occasion ; and, with one heart
and mind, the Carabiniers and the 60 th, an
avenging host, pursued the rebels, and cut them
to pieces, right up to the very gates of Delhi,

The Carabiniers 47

imprecating as they slew. And well they might
be forgiven for that. Never were the lives of
the innocent and defenceless so quickly, terribly,
yet justly avenged ; never has a more awful
nemesis from human hands fallen upon the
destroyers of women and women's honour. And,
remembering all this, we defend it and uphold it,
for we know full well that, in this present war,
the barbarities and atrocities committed by an
unprincipled enemy must again meet with this
righteous kind of vengeance. And, if it is the
traditional and special aspiration of the Cara-
biniers of to-day to cry " Remember Lou vain !
Remember the women and babies of Belgium ! "
shall we say " Hold and spare ! " No ! shall we
say, " Vengeance is God's : God will repay ! "
Yes, with all our heart and soul ; and what better
agency for repayment than that of our noble
Carabiniers ! They are not of the kind to repay
barbarity with barbarity ; but they are of the
kind to use their swords with singular effect, and
like English gentlemen, whose special office it is
to wreak proper vengeance to-day as in the past
on the destroyers of women and children.
At Gungaree the Carabiniers lost three of their

48 British Regiments at the Front

officers, but for this they took a heavy toll. Meet-
ing the rebels three days later, they defeated
them completely, taking their leaders prisoners.
Again the terrible work began. Hotly they
pursued the flying rebels, and put them to the
sword without a show of quarter. Rebel blood
flowed like water for the rebel deeds they had
committed against right and honour.

THEIR BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BATTLE HONOURS. — Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Sevas<
topol, Delhi, Afghanistan 1879-80, S. Africa 1889-1902, Relief of Kimberley,
Paardeberg.

UNIFORM. — Blue, white faciugs, white plume.

Frcm « Painting by] [K. Caton Wovdville.

CHARGE OF SCOTS GREYS AT WATERLOO.

THE SCOTS GREYS
(" SECOND TO NONE ")

" Greys, gallant Greys ! I am 61 years old, but,
if I were young again, I should like to be one of
you." — Sir Colin Campbell at Balaclava.

THE 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), whose
motto is " Second to None," are pictured to British
eyes and imaginations in that wonderful painting,
" Scotland for Ever." The Charge of the Light
Brigade, great and glorious as it was, is, and ever
will be, is perpetually linked with the Charge of
the Heavy Brigade, under Scarlett, when, faced
with a vastly superior force of the enemy, it
offered such heroic assistance, that, had it not
been for this, the glory of the immortal six hun-
dred might not have been sung in the same
triumphant voice. It was a gallant feat on the
part of the " Heavies " — a feat which, though
somewhat overshadowed by the dazzling " Charge

49

50 British Regiments at the Front

of the Six Hundred," was nevertheless greatly
influential in turning the tide of battle.

(Inseparately connected with the Scots Greys
at the front to-day, is the Prince of Wales' Royal
Lancers — the I2th. At Salamanca the " supple
1 2th " joined in the final charge which routed
the French cavalry. At Vittoria the Greys saw
Joseph deprived of his crown, and were fortunately
present at the conquest of San Sebastian. In
Egypt they won honours under Abercromby, and
to-day the emblazonment of the mystic sphinx on
their standard bears witness to the most heroic
deeds. What they have done, that they can do,
and their gallant deeds in the present super-war
show that while the Scots Greys are still second to
none, the I2th Lancers are among the first in
every glorious deed.)

The charge of the Greys and Inniskillings has
been graphically described by many writers.
Perhaps the words " Up the hill, up the hill, up
the hill," describe most vividly the terrific struggle.
But Kinglake tells the story tensely :

" As lightning flashes through a cloud,
the Greys and Inniskillings pierced through
the dark masses of the Russians. The shock

The Scots Greys 51

was but for a moment. There was a clash
of steel, and a light play of sword blades in
the air, and then the Greys and the Red
Coats disappeared in the midst of the shaken
and quivering columns. In another moment
we saw them marching in diminished num-
bers, and charging against the second line. . . .
The first line of Russians, which had been
utterly smashed by our charge, were coming
back to swallow up our handful of men. By
sheer steel and sheer courage, Innis-
killiner and Scot were winning their
desperate way right through the enemies'
squadrons."

When we read to-day that the 5th British
Cavalry Brigade, under General Chetwode,
fought a brilliant action with German cavalry, in
the course of which the i2th Lancers and Royal
Scots Greys routed the enemy, spearing large
numbers in flight, our thoughts fly back to the
old days, when the I2th Lancers and the
" Second to Nones " anticipated these feats
of valour.

It was at Ramillies that the Scots Greys

52 British Regiments at the Front

galloped straight through a difficult morass, with
an infantry battle raging round them. On they
went, till they gained the approach to the heights
beyond. Then they dashed up the steep acclivity
to the heights, and down the other side, where
they thundered like an avalanche on the enemy's
Household Brigade. The impact of that sudden
crash seemed to shake the battlefield. Says one
who was there : " The crash of our meeting rose
above the noise of battle ; it was like sudden
thunder.'* The French fought with the utmost
desperation, but they were matched this time,
not with nondescript and poorly trained Contin-
ental troops, but with picked British, and were
literally swept away before the Scots Greys.
Many battalions of infantry under their protection
were cut to pieces by the Scots Greys and the
Royal Irish Dragoons, the predecessors of the
5th (Royal Irish) Lancers. Still the Greys
pursued their devastating career through Autre-
glise, and, at a point beyond, overtook the French
Regiment du Roi, and secured its surrender. All
that night, like flying demons, they pursued the
retreating enemy, and what they did is tradition-
ally summed up in the fact that they returned with

The Scots Greys 53

no less than sixteen standards — truly a noble
achievement !

Again, at Malplaquet, the Scots Greys and the
Royal Irish Dragoons came up against their old
enemies the French Household Brigade. In three
victorious charges they sustained the honour
of their old victories over them, routing them
utterly. Fate seems specially to have designed
the Scots Greys and the Royal Irish to combat
the French Household Brigade in days gone by,
for, on many occasions when they have met, the
pride of the latter has fallen before the valour of
the former. Not only at Malplaquet, but also at
Detiingen, the Greys, having cut their way
through the French Cuirassiers, launched them-
selves irresistibly upon the French Household
Cavalry. On this occasion, they swept them
from the banks of the river, and wrested from
them their crowning glory — their white standard
of damask, embroidered with gold and silver,
bearing in its centre a thunderbolt above their
motto " Sensere Gigantes." So to-day it may
be said that the giants who fell three times before
the Scots Greys are now in the company of the
Brobdignags.

54 British Regiments at the Front

Some other battles in which the Greys
multiplied their glories are as follow : — Drouet,
Oudenarde, Bethune, St. Venant, Aire, Bou-
chain, Sheriffmuir, and Fontenoy.

Apart, and not yet apart, from their glorious
traditions of battle, the Greys have a peculiar
romance centring round one of their number,
who fought for long years in their midst before it
was ultimately discovered that their comrade of
many fights was a woman. How, why, and
where Christian Davies (nee Cavanagh) first
entered the army is a matter of some doubt, but
we first hear of her in the Netherlands as a
private soldier, whither, as the story goes, she
had gone to find her husband. Here she lived
the life of the ordinary soldier, and maintained her
disguise through everything, even flirting with
the Dutch girls to such an extent that she was
forced to fight a duel with a jealous sergeant,
whom she wounded severely. On account of
this she was obliged to leave the regiment, but
immediately joined the Scots Greys. While
living and fighting with these, she discovered her
husband, but, being enamoured of the free
soldier's life more than of him, she bade him

The Scots Greys 55

wait till the conclusion of the war. Mean
while, at her desire, he and she passed as
brothers.

It was during the charge of the Scots Greys at
Ramillies that Christian Davies met with a
serious wound at the hands of a French dragoon,
and, being brought to hospital, she confessed, to
the surprise and admiration of all, that she was a
woman. On her recovery, she still accompanied
the army, as a vivandiere, in which capacity she
was extremely popular. Ultimately, when the
terrors of war had made her twice a widow, she
returned to England, where Queen Anne graciously
received her in audience, and presented her
with a bounty of £50, together with a pension
of is. a day. At her' funeral in Chelsea, in
1739, she was accorded full military honours,
and all the Scots Greys, at least, know well
that three full volleys were fired above her
grave.

It is worth noting that the Royal Scots Greys,
who, in the past, have fought fiercely against the
Russians, have now as their Colonel-in-Chief
H.I.M. Nicolas II., Emperor of Russia, K.G. —

56 British Regiments at the Front

no longer an enemy, but a friend and an
ally.

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES. — The Thistle within the Circle and Motto of the Order of the Thistle.
An Eagle.

MOTTO. — " Second to None."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Maiplaquet, Det-
tingen, Waterloo, Balaclava, Sevastopol, S. Africa 1899-1902, Relief of
Kimberley, Paardeberg.

UNIFORM. — Scarlet, blue facings, white plume.

I5TH HUSSARS (THE KING'S)

(" ELLIOT'S LIGHT HORSE.")

" Merebimur."— Their Motto.

ONE of the most thrilling and romantic episodes
in cavalry fighting is the historic achievement
of the I5th Hussars at Emsdorf. It was in
July, 1760, that Major Erskine halted his troopers
near the German village of Emsdorf, and bade
them pluck the fresh twigs from the overhanging
oaks, with a word of exhortation to the effect
that they would acquit themselves with the firm-
ness and stubbornness which have always been
ascribed to that symbolic tree. Not long after
this, the I5th formed part of the Prince of
Brunswick's troops, which had surrounded six
battalions of French infantry, together with
some artillery, and a regiment of hussars. The
enemy eventually broke through, and fled, pursued
by the I5th, who were unassisted. So hot was
the pursuit, and so terrible the punishment

57

58 British Regiments at the Front

inflicted by our hussars, that the enemy was
forced to surrender no less than 177 officers,
2,482 men, nine guns, six pairs of colours, and
all the rams and baggage.

All England rang with this achievement of the
I5th Light Dragoons, and never has a squadron
received so whole-hearted a eulogy as that con-
tained in the General Order issued by the Prince
of Brunswick. For many a day " Elliott's Regi-
ment " bore " Emsdorf " on its guidons and
appointments, while upon their helmets was
written, " Five battalions of French defeated and
taken by this regiment, with their colours, and
nine pieces of cannon. Emsdorf, i6th July, 1760."
Now, as the regiment has become Hussars, the
helmet has given place to the busby with no
inscription ; the guidons have disappeared, but
the name " Emsdorf " may still be seen on the
drum-cloth.

The I5th were prominent in all the achieve-
ments of our army during the next few years of
that campaign. Many are the stories of dashing
assault, grim fighting and heroic rescue, related
of them during that time. When the Duke of
Brunswick was surrounded by French Hussars

1 5th Hussars 59

at Friedburg, and it seemed impossible to prevent
his capture, the I5th Hussars clapped spurs
to their horses, and, with a terrific yell, swept
down upon the French at full gallop. It was a
body of determined men against overwhelming
numbers ; for, when they had driven back the
hussars, they were still involved with the con-
verging squadrons. But, with desperate valour
they held their own until they had extricated
their leader, and then they rode back, leaving
double their number of the enemy dead on the
field.

The i5th Hussars were in the thick of the fight
at Waterloo, and they bravely upheld that
honour. After suffering great loss in the enemy's
fire they made a dashing charge through storms
of lead from both flanks against a superior
force of cuirassiers, whom they drove back with
heavy losses. The Official Record states : " From
this period the regiment made furious charges . . .
at one moment it was cutting down the
musketeers, at the next it was engaged with lancers,
and, when these were driven back, it encountered
cuirassiers." For this glorious exploit they paid
honourably with three officers, two sergeants,

60 British Regiments at the Front

and twenty-three privates killed ; seven officers,
three sergeants and forty privates wounded.

The i5th Hussars rendered heroic service in
the Afghan War of 1878-80, when the treacherous
Shere Ali was discovered favouring Russian
intrigue. Many were the brilliant achievements
of the i5th during this war, from Ali Musjid up
to the investment of the Sherpur Cantonments,
the final relief by Cough's Brigade, and the com-
plete victory at Kandahar.

THEIR BADGE AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC
BADGE. — The Crest of England within the Garter.
MOTTO. — " Merebimur."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Emsdorf, Villers-en-Couche, Egmont-op-Zee, Sahagun,
Vittoria, Peninsula, Waterloo, Afghanistan 1878-80.

UNIFORM. — Blue, scarlet busby-bag and plume.

i8TH HUSSARS
(DROGHEDA LIGHT HORSE)

The generic name of the i8th Hussars (Drogheda
Light Horse) was bestowed specifically upon the
corps raised in Ireland in 1759 by the Marquis
of Drogheda, and numbered as the I9th Light
Dragoons. It was renumbered as the i8th
Light Dragoons in 1763, became a Hussar corps
in 1807, and was disbanded as the i8th Light
Dragoons in 1821.

The present i8th Hussars were raised at
Leeds in 1858, and inherited the honours of
the Drogheda Light Horse proper. The silver
trumpets used by the Drogheda Light Horse,
and now in the possession of the i8th Hussars,
were provided out of the proceeds of the sale of
the captured horses at the Battle of Waterloo.
The motto of the i8th Hussars is " Pro Rege,
pro Lege, pro Patria Conamur " (We fight for
King, Law, and Country).

61

62 British Regiments at the Front

There is a traditional romance in the annals of
the 1 8th Hussars which has its confirmation in
modern history. A beautiful Spanish lady, find-
ing herself a refugee with Wellington's forces in
the Peninsula, fell in love with a young English
officer named Harry Smith, and married him.
By statesmanship and prowess in war he rose to
be Sir Harry Smith, who commanded the forces
that defeated the Boers at Boomplatz. Subse-
quently, the town of Ladysmith was so named
after his wife. In this way the Peninsula is
linked with South Africa in the annals of the
i8th Hussars, not only by equal deeds in each
campaign, but by a never-to-be-forgotten romance
of real life.

THEIR BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.
MOTTO. — " Pro Rege, pro Lege, pro Patria conamur."

BATTLE HONOURS. Peninsula, Waterloo, S. Africa 1899-1902, Defence of
Ladysraith.

UXWORM.— Blue, blue busby-bag, scarlet and white plume.

THE GRENADIER GUARDS
("THE OLD EYES")

" Though old in glory and honour

They have yet the vigour of youth."

HIGH in the estimation of every son and daughter
of Britain stands that heroic band, the British
Grenadiers. Their deeds have brought a fine
thrill to every heart, and a stirring song to every
voice ; and, though there have been times when
a pall of necessary silence, covering a " certain
liveliness," has been imposed by the fog of a
world-war, we have felt calmly assured that
behind that fog our British Grenadiers were
doing, or dying, in a way that must awaken the
old thrill, and inspire a new song.

It has always been one of the greatest aids to
success in battle to sum up the daring deeds of
the past ; the successes against fearful odds ; the
forlorn hopes bravely led ; the breaches filled

03

64 British Regiments at the Front

with our British dead; the stubborn resistance,
and sometimes complete annihilation of one part
for the success of the whole ; the lofty sacrifice
of the foremost, so that the hindmost may turn
the tide of battle ; and the heroic dash to certain
death, which has always given birth to victory.
And this aid of tradition has been accorded by
their own deeds, and by the nation's appreciation,
to none more strongly than to the British Grena-
diers.

Yet it must be remembered that the Grenadier
Guards, though they share the honour and glory
of all Grenadiers, were never really Grenadiers
proper. They won the name at Waterloo, where
they vanquished the French Grenadiers. Sharing
the name, they share and perpetuate the memory
of the song, which in the first place referred to
the Grenadiers who threw the grenades " from
the glacis." But, as a good old British song may
gain in volume as it rolls down the years, there
is no reason why the well-known air in question
should not attach to the Grenadier Guards.

Well does the historian say that " their annals
indeed may almost be said to be identical with
those of the British Army, as in every campaign

The Grenadier Guards 65

of importance — every campaign which has had a
material bearing on the fortunes of the Common-
wealth— their services have been called into
requisition. They have shared in our greatest
battles. Their serried ranks stood firm at Fon-
tenoy ; turned the tide of battle at Quatre Bras ;
withstood unshaken the assaults of Napoleon's
brilliant chivalry at Waterloo, and ascended with
stately movement the bristling heights of the
Alma."

Mr. J. J. Hart, who was with the Grenadiers
in the Boer War, gives a graphic description of
the battle near Senekal ;

" With the advent of quick-firing guns,"
says he, " the ancient magnificence of armies
in battle array has disappeared for ever. . . .
There is no shining armour ; there are no
waving plumes ; and the blare of the trumpet
is unheard. Watch those grey-clad figures
as they silently scatter over the plain.
They are the colour of the withered grass of
the veldt. No two will walk together lest
they should be a more conspicuous mark for
those deadly guns. See them as they walk

66 British Regiments at the Front

with bent heads. You might compare them
to poachers or partridge-shooters travelling
over a moor, only their advance is more
cautious. . . .

" It was noon, and my battalion had halted
on the plain. Far away for miles on our
right the battle was raging, and, we with our
grand fighting history, were left to act the
inglorious part of lying on the grass waiting
to cut off a possible retreat of the enemy.
(Col.) Bunker stamped and swore and chewed
his moustache. . . . Confusion to the General
who crushed the flower of the British infantry
so ; but it was orders, and soldiers must
obey. The Boers, however, were more
generous to us than the General, and, in the
working out of a little plan of their own,
they were destined to cover us with wounds if
not with glory. While we were lying musing
on our fate, and thinking if the news of our
being left out of the action should ever reach
London, what we might expect at the hands
of our enemies the cabdrivers, a force of
Boers, of whose presence on a hill about half
a mile in front we were blissfully ignorant,

The Grenadier Guards 67

were preparing to open fire on us. They
began proceedings by killing Bunker's horse
with a percussion shell, which dropped right
under him, and blew the animal to bits.
Our artillery soon limbered up and replied
to the shot, keeping up a continuous fire for
about an hour, when, as they were unable
to silence the gun, we advanced to take it by
assault. We moved towards the hill in
short rushes, lying down every fifty yards to
fire a volley. The Boer shells which exploded
between our extended line did little damage,
and it looked as if we were going to make an
easy capture of the gun. If there were any
rifles on the hill they were certainly very
careful about reserving their fire. We had
got within 500 yards of the base of the hill,
and had risen to make another rush when
the rattling noise of a thousand rifle bolts
together came to our ears. The whole of the
front rank went down at the first volley ;
evidently the marksmen on the hill had taken
very careful aim ; then there followed a
veritable hailstorm of lead, in the face of
which no man could advance and live. We

British Regiments at the Front

remained lying down and firing in the same
position for about five hours.

" The shadows of night were falling, and still
the firing was kept up without intermission ;
when a new danger was observed to threaten
us. A shell had ignited the long grass in our
rear and a light breeze which was blowing
soon turned the spark into a conflagration.
The Boers, observing this, extended their
flanks on our right and left, thus completely
cutting off our retreat. Then followed a
scene of tumult which is hard to describe.
Wounded men who were unable to move . . .
gazed with wild staring eyes at the flames,
which, slowly but surely, crept towards
them. Our left wing made one desperate
rush to charge the Boers, but had to fall
before the leaden hail. When the flames
drew near many of our men made heroic
efforts to remove our wounded through the
blinding smoke and flame. . . Others pulled
their helmets over their faces and rushed
through the fire. In all this confusion I
noticed one man who showed rare presence
of mind. He was badly wounded, and,

The Grenadier Guards 69

being unable to get out of reach of the
flames, he took some matches from his
pocket and burnt the grass near him. He
then crawled on to the black ground, and
thus secured for himself a comparatively safe
position when the fire approached him. The
flames were now upon us, and fighting had
ceased. Two men picked me up where I
lay wounded, and, rushing with me through
the flames, threw me down on the other side,
and ran. . . . The fire burned itself out at
the foot of the hill, and then all was darkness
till the moon, shining out, showed us the
blackened bodies of the dead, and men writh-
ing in pain on the burned earth.

" Now the Boers came amongst us, and,
passing from one wounded man to another,
gave us water from their bottles. Then we
heard a crackling of whips and a rumbling
of wheels. The Boers left us, and we knew
the ambulance wagons were coming."

THEIR COLOURS, BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

THE KING'S COLOURS. — ist Battn., Gules (crimson) : in the centre the
Imperial Crown ; in base a grenade fired proper. 2nd Battn., Gules
(crimson) : in the centre the Royal Cypher reversed and interlaced or, ensigaed

70 British Regiments at the Front

with the Imperial Crown ; in base a grenade fired proper, in the dexter
canton the Union, srd Battn. : as for and Battn., and for distinction,
issuing from the Union in bend dexter, a pile wavy or.

REGIMENTAL COLOURS. — The Union : in the centre a company badge ensigned
with the Imperial Crown ; in base a grenade fired proper. The thirty company
badges are borne in rotation, three at a time, one on the regimental colour of
each of the Battns.

BATTLE HONOURS. — Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen,
LinceUes, Corunna, Barrosa, Peninsula, Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol,
Egypt 1882, Tel-el-Kebir, Suakin 1885, Khartoum, S. Africa 1899-1902, Modder
River.

UNIFORM. — Scarlet, blue facings.

THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS
(" THE NULLI SECONDUS CLUB ")

" Sire ! this regiment refuses to be known as
second to any in the British Army." — Monk (to
Charles II.)

History tells again how, in 1661, Charles, dis-
trusting the soldiers in his service, called the
ist Foot Guards back to England. Following
upon this, he speedily dismissed his Commonwealth
soldiers, and, of all the Puritan regiments, he
retained but one — the Coldstream Guards. This
was the regiment which Monk had marched from
Coldstream to the King's aid ; hence their reten-
tion. An interesting story is related about them.
It is said that when they were ordered to lay down
their arms in repudiation of the Commonwealth,
and commanded to resume them again, as the
2nd Foot Guards, they stood obstinately defiant,
on the verge of mutiny. King Charles was

71

72 British Regiments at the Front

dumbfounded, but Monk was equal to the situa-
tion. " Sire," he said, " this regiment refuses
to be known as second to any in the British Army."
On this, Charles, who was quick to the occasion
with unworded gratitude for their timely help in a
critical situation, cried : " Coldstream Guards,
take up your arms ! " and from that time forward
they have been the Coldstream Guards.

Who can ever forget the glorious achievement
of the Coldstream Guards at St. Amand in 1793 ?
As soon as the Brigade of Guards gained contact
with our then Allies — the Prussians and the
Austrians — General Knobelsdorf, of the Prussian
Army, welcomed them with, " I have reserved
for the Coldstream Guards the honour, the
especial glory, of dislodging the French from
their entrenchments. As British troops you
have only to show yourselves, and the enemy
will retire."

The Coldstreamers rather wondered at his
flowery flattery. They did not know, and he
omitted to tell them, that the honour he had
reserved for them was one which had been offered
three times to 5,000 Austrians and three times
missed by them, with a loss of 1,700 men. The

The Coldstream Guards 73

Coldstreamers, therefore, prepared for the battle
in complete ignorance of the fact that they were
expected to do, with 600 rank and file, what 5,000
Austrians had failed to accomplish in three at-
tempts. Not that it would have made much
difference, for the British soldier can always count
on doing the impossible about fifty times in a
century.

The .Coldstreamers, ready and eager, moved to
the attack, and the Prussian General moved
with them as far as safety would permit ; then,
desirous apparently that they should achieve
this " especial glory " without any interference
from him, he waved them on with his sword
and magnanimously galloped away.

Hell opened then on the Coldstream Guards.
The wood before them spurted flame. Batteries
from right and left lumbered up, and, under cover
of the undergrowth, tore lanes through them at
close range. Never, up to that time, in the
history of battles, had there been such quick and
fearful slaughter of our troops. In a few minutes
two of the companies were reduced by one-half.
Ensign Howard went down with the colours,
and on every hand rank and file were blown to

74 British Regiments at the Front

pieces. Sergeant-Major Darling, one of the many
heroes of that awful fight, had one arm shattered
by a cannon ball, but he fought on with the other
with such tenacity that his deeds were afterwards
described as " prodigies of valour." A French
officer, seeing so many men go down before him,
pressed forward and engaged him in a fierce
combat. But Darling laid him low and continued
his terrible work until another ball carried away
one of his legs. Thus, bereft of a leg and an arm,
he was taken prisoner. General Knobelsdorf,
the Prussian, lived through that day, but many,
too many, of the Coldstreamers went to their last
account, fighting gloriously. You may, under
some conditions, beat a Coldstreamer, but you
will never, never convince him that you have
done so.

At Inkerman the Coldstream Guards, a few
hundred strong, actually stood up to 4,000
Russians for a time, during which there was the
bloodiest struggle ever witnessed. The fight was
round the Sandbag Battery, where 700 British
had held their own until reinforced by the Guards,
and it was of such a nature that each guard must
needs be a small battalion on his own account to

The Coldstream Guards 75

do any good at all. Back to back the Cold-
streamers fought till their ammunition was
exhausted. Then they took their muskets and
clubbed the pressing hosts in such fashion that
they made space enough to form into line. Thus,
with levelled steel, they charged. The enemy
was thrown into utter confusion by their terrific
onslaught, and, taking advantage of this, the
Coldstreamers regained their own lines, having
inflicted tremendous loss.

And the Russian in Germany to-day knows all
about it. He has not forgotten the Cold-
streamer of former days, any more than the Cold-
streamer has forgotten the glorious deeds of the
Russian ; and, no doubt, if they could sit by the
same camp-fire, many such a battle story would
be told, through the interpreter, of those good
old days " when we flew at each other's throats."

THEIR COLOURS.

THE KING'S COLOURS. — ist Battn., Gules (crimson) : in the centre the Star
of the Order of the Garter proper, ensigned with the Imperial Crown ; in base
the Sphinx superscribed Egypt, and Battn., Gules (crimson) : in the centre
a star of eight points argent within the garter, ensigned with the Imperial Crown ;
in base the Sphinx superscribed Egypt, in the " dexter " canton the Union.
3rd Battn ., as for the ist Battn., and for difference in the dexter canton ,the
Union and issuing therefrom in bend dexter :a pile wavy or.

THE ROYAL SCOTS
("PONTIUS PILATE'S BODY GUARD")

" A volley, my lads, and then the steel ! "—Their
Captain at Wepener.

THE Royal Scots (ist Foot, or Lothian Regiment)
are old in story. Several hundreds of years
before the battle of Blenheim, which is among
the first of their honours, the Royal Scots had
traced their earlier glories on the roll of fame.
Few European battlefields could disclaim acquaint-
ance with them, and there are few on which they
have not been responsible for terrific slaughter,
and a large share in the crux of victory. Their
ancestors far back fought under Gustavus
Adolphus: their lineal descendants fight now
under King George ; and the bridge between
that time and this has been held by them
heroically.

It is interesting to trace their battles from the
76

The Royal Scots 77

first. Long, long ago, fighting for Sweden, they
captured and defended Rugenwald in Pomerania.
Being wrecked on a hostile coast, with Adolphus
eighty miles away, these Scots were led by Munro,
with what might seem to us an absurd hope of
victory. All day they waited in the caves by the
sea shore, starving, wet, and cold — waited for the
night, so that, under the cover of darkness, they
might bring their desperate plan to fruition.
Darkness fell ; the moon rose, and these hungry
Scots went forth to the attack. In one stroke
they captured Rugenwald, and held it against
repeated attempts on the part of the enemy to
retake it. For nine weeks they gripped this
place, and held on tooth and nail till Hepburn's
men, fighting mile after mile to their relief, came
up.

Hepburn's men ! They were Scots, every one
of them. Men who, led by Hepburn himself,
captured Frankfort on the Oder. He took them
to the attack waist deep through the mud and
water of the moat. At the great battle of Leipzig,
" the battle of the Nations," Gustavus held these
men in reserve. Then, when the issue was in
danger, he flung them forward. The musketry

78 British Regiments at the Front

fire galled them severely, but through it all the
pikemen went cheering on, and put the enemy
to an inglorious rout.

Later, in 1632, Hepburn, who was somewhat a
soldier of fortune, found himself on his way to
aid the King of France. In 1634 he led his regi-
ments against the Austrians and Spaniards. Here
he was joined by Scots from France, and Scots
from Sweden. Other Scots came up from the four
quarters of the compass, as if by a gathering of the
clans, and three years later there were 8,000 of
them serving under the King of France. Those
8,000 are the martial sires of the present Royal
Scots.

As to the heroic achievements of the Royal
Scots, we may instance the battle of Wynen-
dale. General Webb (Thackeray's favourite
General of " Colonel Esmond ") won that battle
with an army of 8,000 men against 22,000 French-
men. It was his work to take supplies from Os-
tend to Marlborough's army in the field. Near the
wood of Wynendale he detected the preponderat-
ing force of the enemy intent on intercepting his
mission, but, in order to do this, they must tra-
verse the wood. The odds were nearly three to

The Royal Scots 79

one against Webb, but, relying on his men as much
as on his own generalship, he decided to put up a
fight of fights. The way of the enemy's approach
was a great glade through the wood, and to right
and left of this he placed detachments of his troops
while he stationed the main body of his army at
the point where they must debouch. Then he
waited. That long wait for the oncoming host
has been much described : how for a time they
gazed up the long avenue through which the foe
must come ; how every man felt that tense
expectancy, which lends to the simple sounds of
nature a meaning of their own, and how 8,000
staunch hearts went back to the old folks at home
with tenderness, and possible regret, before the
descent of an avalanche which threatened to
bereave their hearths.

But at length the enemy teemed in at the
further end of the glade. On they came, warily
scanning the wood, but it was not till the Royal
Scots poured a volley into them that the enemy
actually realized what was happening. When the
smoke cleared away, confusion reigned in their
ranks ; they rallied, and came on with greater
determination, but again they were hurled into

80

British Regiments at the Front

disorder and death by the British fire. Yet a
third time they attempted it, and with all the
bravery of the French, but a third time they met
with that penetrating fire that none but the British,
with their ugly bulldog pertinacity, can stand.
They failed to forge their way through the storm
of lead, and at last retired in confusion, leaving
one third their number of British as victors of the
field.

The Royal Scots have more than once been
helped out of a difficulty by other regiments. For
instance, at Schellenberg in 1714, the ultimate
victory, after three daring attempts on the part of
the Royal Scots, who fought their way up against
a heavy fire from the heights above, was made sure
by the Scots Greys, who dismounted and rushed
to their assistance. This engagement cost the
French a valuable position, and 16 guns.

This help in the time of extreme peril was
balanced by the Royal Scots at the battle of
Lundy's Lane, where they arrived in the nick of
time to make up 2,800 British against 5,000
Americans. After a hard fight the enemy was
driven back, but they opened again with a devas-
tating fire of musketry and artillery, following it

The Royal Scots 81

up with a most determined charge. So desperate
was their onslaught that the British guns were
captured, and immediately following on this, the
Royal Scots performed a deed which is underlined
in history. They recaptured those guns, and left
the enemy bewildered. This was the closest fight
imaginable. In the thick of it, the opposing
cannon almost spoke into each others' mouths. So
close they were, that neither side could say, " This
is my gun." In point of act, in the heat of the
moment a British limber carried off an American
gun, and an American a British gun. On that
field the contact between British and American
was extremely close. In these days it is just as
close, but not exactly in the same fierce spirit.

One of the foremost of the exploits of the
Royal Scots was the defence of Tangier against
the Moors in 1678. In Port Henrietta some 160
of the Royal Scots had been isolated. In order
to facilitate their escape their comrades in the
town created a diversion by leading a general
attack. In the midst of this the Scots got as far
as the first trench surrounding the fort, but, at
the outer one, which was 12 feet deep, they came
into close grips with the enemy. There it was

82 British Regiments at the Front

sheer knife-fighting, and many Royal Scots went
to the bottom of the pit. One hundred and
twenty of them filled it full, and over that bridge of
silence forty survivors hewed their way through.
The last charge at Wepener is described in the
History of the Boer War as follows " The Royal
Scots saw the Boers rushing and their warrior
hearts beat quick with joy. Shortly, like a man
in a dream, their Captain gave the word, ' Fix
bayonets ! ' It was done in a trice. ' Ready ! '
The men loaded their rifles. ' A volley, my lads,
and then the steel ! Altogether — ' The whistle
blows, the flame flies along the parapet. Then,
over the stone wall, sprang the Royal Scots. Once
they shouted, once only. Then the slaying began
. . . Fifty thousand savage throats swelled the
battle chorus. Ever since the siege began the black
warriors had been gathered in their thousands
on the heights, watching with fascinated interest
the struggle of the white men. Like the spectators
of a medieval tournament they had applauded the
gallant deeds of the combatants, and, as they saw
the British soldiers holding out day after day, night
after night, against the assault of numerous odds,
they came to have a profound trust and confidence

The Royal Scots 83

in the ' big heart ' of the Queen's soldiers. When,
therefore, they saw the Royal Scots launch them-
selves like a living bolt at five times their number,
they held their breath for a time, wondering what
the end might be. But when they saw the bloody
bayonets of the ist Foot scatter and utterly destroy
the hated Dutchman they opened their throats
and yelled their applause across the river."

THEIR BADGES, BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES. — The Royal Cypher within the Collar of the Order of the Thistle
with the Badge appendant. In each of the four corners the Thistle within the
Circle and motto of the Order, ensigned with the Imperial Crown.

BATTLE HONOURS. — The Sphinx, superscribed Egypt. Blenheim, Ramillies,
Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Louisburg, St. Lucia, Egmont-op-Zee, Corunna,
Busaco, Salamanca, Vittoria, St. Sebastian, Nive, Peninsula, Niagara, Waterloo
Nagpore, Maheidpore, Ava, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Taku Forts, Pekin,
S. Africa 1889-1902.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with blue facings.

[This distinguished corps is the oldest regiment in the Army, hence its nick*
name of Pontius Pilate's Body Guard. There is a tradition that it represents
the body of Scottish Archers who for centuries formed the guard of the French
kings. It fought undo.r Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, in the Seven Years'
War, and was incorporated in the British Army in 1633. Since that date it has
seen service in every part of the globe.]

THE "FIGHTING FIFTH"
("THE SHINERS")

THE "Fighting Fifth" (Northumberland Fusi-
liers) have a peculiar paradox in their history.
They were first raised in 1674 by Prince
William of Orange, the Dutchman, and, in the
last Boer War, they were fighting against the
Dutch themselves. But even stranger things
than that have come to pass in these later
days when we have good cause to call our
old allies our enemies, and our old enemies our
allies.

The " Fighting Fifth " derived their regimental
name, the Northumberland Fusiliers, from Hugh,
Earl Percy, afterwards Duke of Northumberland,
who commanded the regiment during the Ameri-
can War of Independence. For their fighting in
the seventeenth century Prince William assembled
them before the whole army, and publicly re-
warded them for their services. It must be

84

The "Fighting Fifth" 85

remembered that there were still services to
come, for, when the Prince returned to England,
fourteen years later, to deprive kis father-in-law
of his throne, the "Fighting Fifth" had not
forgotten his kind offices. On this occasion they
were regarded by the English with pride and
admiration. " Even the peasants," says Mac-
aulay, " whispered to one another as they marched
by : ' There be our own lads ; there be the brave
fellows who hurled back the French on the field
of Seneffe ! ' "

The " Fighting Fifth " gained many laurels in
Portugal and Spain, where, on more than one
occasion, they drove the enemy before them in
utter confusion. It is in this war that their
fighting traditions are chiefly founded.

At Ciudad Rodrigo it was the " Fighting
Fifth " who stormed the approach. Afterwards
they fought their way with fusil and steel through
Salamanca, Nivelle, Vittoria, Orthes, and Toulouse,
right up to Paris.

One of their greatest achievements was the
successful defence of Gibraltar, when the Spaniards
made their first attempt to recover k. Since that
time there is scarce a page of fighting history up

86 British Regiments at the Front

to the time of the Napoleonic Wars that contains
no deed of this bull-dog regiment.

Their nickname is almost as old as their regi-
ment. It was at the siege of Maestricht in 1676,
when the regiment was only two years old, that
a section of these men, only 200 strong, assaulted
the Dauphin bastion — an affair out of which,
after the most sanguinary combat, no more than
fifty emerged. Yet maddened, rather than
daunted, these fifty, with some few reinforce-
ments, made a further attack on the bastion ;
and this time they took it, but only to meet
with disaster. The place was mined, and a
terrible explosion killed a large number, and
covered others in wreckage. Many, however,
emerged, and these proceeded to hold the
position.

The tale of how they entered Badajoz stirs the
blood. The 2nd Battalion led the storming
party. Their way led over a narrow bridge.
Here, under a terrible fire, the foremost fell in
heaps ; but their comrades pressed forward over
their prostrate bodies, and planted ladders against
the beetling walls of the castle. For a time the
" Fighting Fifth " suffered heavily. Again and

The « Fighting Fifth " 87

again the desperate attackers reached the summit
of the walls, only to be hurled back by the enemy.
Here they swarmed up like bees, to be swept
down again by a raking fire ; there, another
ladder broken, another overturned, with men
everywhere falling and climbing, climbing and
falling. The chance of scaling those walls seemed
hopeless, and at length the Fifth paused, and
looked at one another. Then, at that psycho-
logical moment, the cheering of the enemy above
broke the spell. Their cheers were answered by
a fierce shout from our men, who rushed to the
attack with a never-give-in determination that
finally gained the ramparts, and drove the
garrison out of the castle, out of the town, and
into the distance, not without great slaughter.
It was at Badajoz that the Fifth lost their brave
colonel, who struck in at that psychological
moment, and led the final victorious onslaught.
He fell, shot through the heart, at the very
moment that victory was assured. " None that
night," says Napier, " died with more glory ;
yet many died, and there was much glory." The
taking of Badajoz was indeed a piece of work
which required all the dogged tenacity of

88 British Regiments at the Front

purpose to be found in such fearless heroes as
the " Fighting Fifth."

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES. — St. George and the Dragon. In each of the four corners the united
Red and White Rose slipped, ensigned with the Royal Crest.

MOTTO. — " Quo fata vocant."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Wilhelmsthal, Roleia, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, Cuidad
Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula,
Lucknow, Afghanistan 1878-80, Khartoum, S. Africa 1899-1902, Modder River.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with gosling-green facings.

THE LIVERPOOL REGIMENT

(THE LEATHER HATS ")

THE Liverpool Regiment, like the 5th Dragoon
Guards, was raised to help James, and, like them,
it sided with the right against him. When James
tried to place Roman Catholic officers over
English regiments, with the help of the Liverpool
Regiment, the colonel and five officers strongly

objected. James sent his son, Fitzjames, Duke
of Berwick, to Portsmouth, to correct them ;
but on this, and the issue of it, the country rose,
saying unanimously that James was wrong, and
the " six Portsmouth captains " were right.
James had to flee from a country which enter-
tained ideas so strange to his way of thinking.
In memory of this protest against oppression,
the portraits of those " six Portsmouth captains "
are preserved to this day by the regiment. Once

89

90

British Regiments at the Front

having definitely seceded, the Liverpool Regiment
went further in the defence of liberty, and fought
fiercely at the Boyne.

But it was in the Netherlands that the " Leather
Hats " performed their first great feat of valour.
Lord Cutts, whom they dubbed " The Sala-
mander " — because, where the fire was hottest,
there was Cutts to be found — ordered them,
against all sane strategy, to storm the fortress
of Venloo. Everyone said it was impossible to
take it, but the Liverpool Regiment, who were
actually facing the matter, got a different view
into their heads. They said nothing, but obeyed
commands— and took it. " Over bastion, fausse,
bray and raveline," says a graphic chronicler,
" over trench, glacis and escarpment, Cutts led
his dare-devils ; the ditches were heaped with
the dead, till the living walked over them, and —
the enemy ran upon the farther side." It was
a magnificent feat of arms, and a fitting preface
to Blenheim, Dettingen, Lucknow, and their
glorious deeds at the front to-day.

The Liverpool Regiment 91

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGE.— The White Horse within the Garter. In each of the four corners
the Royal Cypher.

MOTTO. — " Nee aspera terrent."

BATTLE HONOURS. — The Sphinx, superscribed Egypt. Blenheim, Ramillies,
Oudenarde, Malplaquet, Dettingen, Martinique, Niagara, Delhi, Lucknow,
Peiwar Kotal, Afghanistan 1878-80, Burma 1885-87, S. Africa 1899-1902,
Defence of Ladysmith.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with blue facings.

THE NORFOLKS

("THE HOLY BOYS ")

" Our country will, I believe, sooner forgive an
officer for attacking his enemy, than for omitting
to do it. ...

" A Norfolk man is as good as two others." — Nelson.

OF the Norfolk Regiment, then known as the gih
(East Norfolk) Regiment, Napier said, with a
happy mixture of blame and praise : u They
were guilty of a fierce neglect of orders in taking
a path leading immediately to the enemy."
Indeed, that is exactly what they did at the
battle of Roliga on the I7th August, 1808. Their
intrepidity and fine carelessness in regard to their
lives were on that day the subject of unstinted
praise on the part of the whole French army,
who, in those times it must be remembered,
were our enemies. A brief description of the
battle will show the stern stuff that the Norfolks
are made of.

92

The Norfolks 93

The enemy, under Laborde, held a very strong
position, and it was Wellington's object to drive
them from it at the earliest opportunity. The
Norfolks, under Brigadier Nightingale, came up
with Wellington's army from Obidos, three
columns strong. The gth occupied the position
in the centre, which fronted the enemy in pos-
session of a natural fortress of gigantic crags,
looming steep and forbidding against the sky.
The only way of ascent was by means of some
zigzag tracks, which, at many points, were open
to the enemy's fire.

Under these conditions, it would have been
possible for our men to proceed by halt and rush,
with a slow but sure caution ; but the Norfolks,
flinging all caution to the winds, hurled them-
selves forward to get at the enemy as quickly
as possible. They swarmed up the heights,
giving the foe a hot example of their musketry
fire as they swung forward. It is said that their
exploit was in full view of both armies as the
smoke of their firing marked their passage from
crag to crag. The rapidity of their advance
was so great that the other regiments of the
central column were left far behind. Laborde,

94 British Regiments at the Front

taking advantage of their prominent position,
proceeded to throw the greater part of his army
against them, thinking to wipe them out before
they could receive support. This was partially
successful, for the enemy's fierce onslaught bore
the 2nd battalion back. Fiercely; the Norfolks
contested every inch of the way, and it was a
wonder of wonders that they lost so little ground
against overwhelming odds before the ist bat-
talion came to their assistance. Then, with
scarce a breathing space, they re-formed their
ranks, and, with a hearty British cheer, swept
forward and upward again.

That heroic and dashing encounter, in which
the battle was to the swift — for it will be re-
membered that they had outstripped the rest of
the army — is one that can never be forgotten in
the annals of our history. Slowly, point by
point, they gained the advantage, and finally
drove the enemy from the summit. But, having
taken the position, they had to hold it again
and again against the furious efforts of the enemy
to dislodge them. The reckless dash of their
ascent could only be equalled by the stubborn
resistance with which they held on, and, time after

The Norfolks 95

time, Laborde's battalions were driven back.
Finally, the Northumberland Fusiliers came to
their assistance, and the enemy was forced to
retire. This was a victory set upon a hill, and,
in the same spirit in which it was witnessed that
day by thousands of opposing forces, so it is for
ever pictured in our minds. With the battle of
Roliga in their traditions, the Norfolk Regiment,
as we write, are no doubt adding to the list of
their brilliant achievements.

In this battle a memorable act of heroism
glorifies a page of history — a page written in the
Norfolk blood of Sergeant-Major Richards. At
the time when our skirmishers advanced rapidly,
and the echo of their quick musketry fire hung
reverberating in the ravine and hollow as they
ran from cover to cover, two companies crept
up two separate passes among the rocks and
debouched upon the summit of the ridge. The
foremost of the gth, on emerging two or three
at a time from their narrow passage, were am-
bushed by the enemy. Blake, their brave
Colonel, was killed, and many of his men fell
around him. When the ambuscade rushed forth
to grips, Sergeant-Ma j or Richards, though riddled

96 British Regiments at the Front

with lead, and bleeding from a dozen bayonet
wounds, stood over his beloved commander and
fought to the death. This brave fellow, than
whom there was never a braver, said, as he was
dying, " I should not have cared so much if
only our Colonel had been spared." In those
few words, at such a moment, breathed the true
spirit of the Norfolks, and that glorious sim-
plicity of thought and singleness of eye — fine,
grand, unconsciously sublime — runs through every
line of our great Book of Battles. We are not
glad that our enemy of to-day has not written
such a book, nor do we trouble to wish he had :
the fact is fixed that he has not. Indeed, he had
never the material for such a book, for it is
obvious that the same barbarous hand that struck
out an innocent Louvain could not insert such
an anachronism as the heroic death and noble
sentiment of a Sergeant-Major Richards of
the Norfolks.

But Roliga, although the most prominent of
their honours, is only one among many that have
been set to their credit. They have more than
once been in a position of extreme peril. When
Ruffin's brigade at Barrossa realised that the

The Norfolks 97

Norfolks were cut off through an error on the part
of our Spanish Allies, they turned the whole fury
of their overwhelming odds upon that single regi-
ment. Then it was a case of fighting, and dying,
back to back. All fought like heroes, and, like
heroes, most of them died. It was only when
Brigadier Dilkes came to their assistance that the
few survivors were extricated from their hazardous
position. Needless to say, the handful that
remained joined at once with Dilkes' column, and
assaulted the enemy's heights. A grim battle
ensued, and at length a brilliant victory was
gained.

In the history of the Norfolks is written one of
the saddest incidents in the annals of our arms.
It was they who, at Corunna, at dead of night,
buried Sir John Moore, under the shadow of
disaster — a sorrowful ending to an adverse passage
which, although it concealed a marvellous achieve-
ment, few of us care to linger upon in days when
victory is before us, and all thoughts of defeat
forgotten.

At Fuentes d'Onoro, a description of which
battle will be found in another chapter, the Nor-
folks, in company with many other regiments of

98 British Regiments at the Front

our present expeditionary force, fought with all
their customary vim ; and at Salamanca their
assault on the enemy was as if they had been let
go from a catapult. At a time when they were
fully 500 yards in front of our main body of troops,
Wellington saw the chance of making use of them
to capture a particular post held by the enemy.
He sent his aide-de-camp scouring up to them
with the hurried message : " Ninth ! you are the
only regiment ready ; advance ! " They required
no further indication to grasp what was to be
done ; in fact, they would probably have done it
in the natural course of events, without the order ;
they charged on, and at the point of the irre-
sistible bayonet the post was taken.

Many a forlorn hope has been led by the Nor-
folks. One that remains indelibly stamped on
our memory is that at San Sebastian, headed by
a Scots lad, named Campbell. This poor fellow
was terribly wounded in the first onslaught,
receiving a bayonet thrust, and a heavy sabre
gash. The young hero was not to die of his
wounds however. Very much on the contrary,
he lived to become Sir Colin Campbell, Com-
mander-in-Chief in India ; and, for his splendid

The Norfolks 99

services in suppressing the Indian Mutiny was
created Baron Clyde.

Having come through many terrible fights with
honour and glory, and without a stain, it is natur-
ally the great regret of this famous regiment that
they were not at present at Waterloo. But, though
absent from our greatest field of victory, they were
doing good work at the time in Canada. Yet it
has come to their share in these days to reap
honours in fields not far from Waterloo, and we
live to learn that, in the deeds of to-day, and to-
morrow, a Norfolk man is indeed as good as at
least two Germans.

THEIR BADGE AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.
BADGE. — The figure of Britannia.

BATTLB HONOURS. — Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, Salamanca, Vittoria,
St. Sebastian, Nive, Peninsula, Cabool 1842, Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Sobraon,
Sevastopol, Kabul, 1879 Afghanistan 1870-80, S. Africa 1900-02, Paardeberg.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with yellow facings.

[Raised in 1685. Received the title " East Norfolk Regiment " in 1782, and
became|the Norfolk Regiment in 1881. The badge of the figure of Britannia was
bestowed on the regiment in recognition of its gallantry at the battle of Almanza
(1707). This regiment was the last of the British forces to embark at Corunna
(1809), and was entrusted with the burial of Sir John Moore, in memory of
which event the officers of the regiment wear a black line in their lace.]

THE BLACK WATCH (ROYAL HIGH-
LANDERS)

(" HEROES OF PERTHSHIRE ")

" We are but few, but of the right sort." — Nelson.

" Highlanders, remember Egypt ! " — Sir John
Moore at Corunna.

THESE men need a book to themselves. It is
impossible here to give more than a short account
of one or two of their most brilliant fights, but,
as from the peck you may judge of the barrel, so
one will find the invincible temper of the Black
Watch in every line and every word.

It was at Fontenoy that the Black Watch
first met a foreign foe, and their dealings with
that foe were an emphatic earnest of their future
honours. The fortune of war was not on their
side ; they were forced to retreat, covering it in
such perfect order that Lord Crawford waved
his hat to them, with the well-remembered

100

The Black Watch 101

approval that they had achieved as great
honour as if they had gained an actual
victory.

The Black Watch have acquired great reputa-
tion in America. They distinguished themselves
notably at Bushey Run, and it was in the War
of Independence that they contributed their
severest and most difficult work. A chronicler of
the doings of this regiment writes on this passage
in their history : "In every field the Black
Watch maintained their hardly earned reputa-
tion/' and many are the recorded deeds of
individual courage and readiness. Here is one
instance by the same chronicler :

" In a skirmish with the Americans in
1776, Major Murray, of the 42nd, being
separated from his men, was attacked by
three of the enemy. His dirk slipped behind
his back, and, being a big stout man, he
could not reach it, but defended himself as
well as he could with his fusil, and, watching
his opportunity, seized the sword of one of
his assailants, and put the three to flight."

The battle of Alexandria was perhaps one of

102 British Regiments at the Front

the most brilliant in the whole career of the
Black Watch. At a time when the two wings
of their regiment stood some 200 yards apart,
the Invincibles of France, valiant fighters, forced
their way between, with one six-pounder. As
soon as the Highlanders found that they had
been, in a sense, caught napping, a roar of wrath
rose from their ranks, and swiftly their right
wing swung down on the interloping French,
broke their ranks and captured their gun. The
left wing, facing the other way, wheeled swiftly,
and fell like mountain cats on the French rear.
The enemy, who had thought to split the 42nd
to some purpose, were thus themselves caught
in a death trap. The Invincibles rushed helter-
skelter for cover in the ruins near by, and after
them, terrible in pursuit, went the Black Watch.
The plaided ranks drew together, and charged
again and again with fixed bayonets, while the
pursued fled before those gleaming points until
they were brought to bay in a position where
they were forced to turn and fight. It was a
brave and memorable fight then on both sides.
The courage of despair was on the enemy's side,
and the cool, relentless courage of the Caledonians

The Black Watch 103

was on ours. But in the end the enemy,
having lost 700 of their men, were forced to
yield.

This temporary victory, however, afforded no
respite for the Black Watch. Hot upon the
action came a strong column of French infantry
swiftly advancing, and it was a matter of the
utmost importance that they should be attacked
at once. The Black Watch, dishevelled as they
were, their great chests still heaving with their
exertions, were flung forward by Sir Ralph
Abercromby, who, in the urgency of the critical
moment, himself hallooed them on.

It was a quick passage. After a clashing
impact, the Black Watch broke the French
column and scattered it in flight. Seeing the
Highlanders eagerly pursuing, and in danger of
being cut off by three squadrons of cavalry,
General Moore ordered the pursuers to retire.
It appears that, in the crash and roar of the
battle, this order was lost upon the foremost
pursuers, who were dealing death right and
left, and they were not aware of what threatened
until the French cavalry was thundering down upon
them. It was so sudden that the Highlanders

104 British Regiments at the Front

had barely time to retrieve their scattered
state, and rally back to back. Thus, raising
their fierce northern battle-cry, they fought
against fearful odds, a small body of men sur-
rounded on every hand. But even from this
they emerged victorious, routing the very flower
of the French cavalry. So it was that in one
day this regiment won three brilliant victories,
each one of which had seemed at first almost a
forlorn hope.

It must be remembered that the Royal High-
lander has always been a perfect swordsman,
terrible with his rifle, and deadly with his pistol.
His strength is renowned in history. There have
been men among them who have claimed no
great superiority over their fellows from the
fact of being able to twist a horseshoe, or drive
a skeandhu up to the hilt in a pine log. Fatigue,
hunger, thirst, the extremes of heat and cold —
all these are with those men the mere common-
place foej of a Spartan existence — foes which
have always found and left them silent, patiently
contemptuous, where foes of flesh and blood
would at once arouse them to anger of the grim-
mest kind,

The Black Watch 105

Perhaps no part of the world has seen the
Black Watch in as true a light as the Peninsula.
From all quarters of it their honours are drawn.
They were with Moore at Corunna on that
memorable occasion, when on a sudden he
cried out to them : " Highlanders, remember
Egypt ! "

With reference to this speech, and the moment
it was delivered, tradition has clothed it with
romance. At many a Highland fireside, when
the eerie spirit sits in the glen and whispers
round the lonely sheilings, it has been said by
aged warriors, who had lived on in peace per-
haps into the sixties, that, at those words, the
men around him, who loved him best, saw, with
the uncanny second sight of their race, a misty
shimmering shroud enclosing their commander's
form, portentous of his coming death.

The words " Highlanders, remember Egypt ! "
referred to the occasion when, at Alexandria, Sir
Ralph Abercromby being taken prisoner, and
his captor being shot by a Royal Highlander,
the regiment, though broken, continued to fight
individually. It is no wonder that Sir John
Moore, who had marvelled at their prowess,

106 British Regiments at the Front

should exhort them, eight years later, at Corunna,
to remember Egypt.

At Toulouse, Pack, as he galloped swiftly up
with General Clinton's orders, drew rein in
silence before the Black Watch. Then he spoke
calmly, but with elation : " General Clinton has
been pleased to grant my request that the 42nd
shall have the honour of leading the attack.
The 42nd will advance ! " There were 500 who
went in, and there were about ninety who came
out alive. One can imagine then their terrible
passage up to the fatal redoubt, and all the more
clearly may be pictured the determination of
it from the fact that, when they reached it, the
enemy had fled.

When they were before the heights of Alma,
Sir Colin Campbell turned to them, and cried :
" Men, the army is watching us. Make me proud
of my Highland brigade ! " From the future,
near and far, the whole wide world watches
them, and a great Empire has been made proud
of them. Kinglake tells this part of the story
with a fine touch. " Smoothly, easily, and
swiftly," he says, " the Black Watch seemed to
glide up the hill. A few instants before, and

The Black Watch 107

their tartans ranged dark in the valley ; now
their plumes waved on the crest." The enemy
did not stay for the coming onslaught, for, as
many said afterwards, they " did not like those
men in the petticoats, with their red vulture
plumes and their coloured tartans."

At Ticonderoga, in 1758, they suffered heavily,
in blood, though not in honour. Of that en-
counter an officer of the 55th, who was in the
engagement, says : " It is with a mixture of
esteem, grief, and envy, that I considered the
great loss and immortal glory won by the Scots
Highlanders in the late bloody affair/' From
all historical accounts it seems that the enemy
was very strongly entrenched, in front by ditches,
and on the battle side by barricades of felled
trees. From this cover they sent volley upon
volley into the ranks of the advancing High-
landers. " Yet," says one chronicler :

' The Scots hewed their way through the
obstacles with their broadswords, and — no
ladders having been provided — made strenu-
ous efforts to carry the breastwork, partly
by mounting on each other's shoulders, and

108 British Regiments at the Front

partly by placing their feet in holes which
they dug with their swords and bayonets
in the face of the works. After a desperate
struggle, which lasted nearly four hours,
General Abercromby, seeing no possible
chance of success, ordered a retreat — an order
which had to be thrice repeated before the
Highlanders would withdraw from the
unequal contest ! "

What the Black Watch would have done at
Balaclava and Inkerman, had they been there,
can be conjectured, but, sufficient to say that
Sevastopol bears witness to their many deeds of
outright bravery.

The officers of the Black Watch have always
been, needless to say, the soul of honour of the
body of their men. In the following letter — a
letter which might form part of a great poem —
Colonel Macleod writes to the Sultan Tippoo :

' You, or your interpreter have said in
your letter to me that I have lied, or made
a mensonge. Permit me to inform you,
Prince, that this thing is not good for you

The Black Watch 109

to give, or for me to receive, and if I were
alone with you in the desert, you would
not dare to say these words to me. An
Englishman scorns to lie ; this is an irrepar-
able affront to an English warrior. If you
have courage enough to meet me, take 100
of your bravest men on foot ; meet me on
the sea shore ; I will fight you, and 100 men
of mine will fight yours."

This has the true epic ring of all time, even
back to the state and condition of the heroic
savage who, instinct with honour, said : " Friend,
if I had an axe, and thou hadst an axe, then we
should see where the truth stands." But, alas!
in some parts of the world where savagery is no
longer heroic, the days of the true epic have gone
by, its local death warrant being writ upon a
" scrap of paper " crumpled in an Emperor's
hand.

But the Black Watch, though it has fed, as it
were, upon the hearts of lions in its immortal
traditions of the far past, can live more intimately
in the atmosphere of recent glories. Evan
McGregor, Robert Dick, Stewart of Garth,

110 British Regiments at the Front

Gordon Drummond, Hope Grant — these are
immortal names appended to half its story only.
Its later history is lit by the fame of the Eighth
Earl of Airlie, who was killed at Diamond Hill
in 1900, When he sailed from our shores for
South Africa, almost his last words were : " Re-
member, if I am killed in action, whatever
memorial you put for me, that you say on it I
had died as I wished/' And, in confirmation of
this, after Magersfontein : "I like the Boers, and
am very proud to be fighting against them. . . .
I am very happy." A sentiment which we, in
later years, can parallel with the fact that
Botha's son (aged seventeen years) has enlisted
to fight for Britain — a step approved by his
heroic father.

It was the old 73rd (now the 2nd Battalion
Black Watch) which, under General Wauchope,
their former colonel, fought so heroically in the
Boer War, losing their brave commander at
Magersfontein. The 73rd was, from 1809 to 1881,
an ordinary line regiment, the Scottish dress and
kilt having been abandoned. As such it fought
at Waterloo, which, among others, it gives as

The Black Watch 111

an " honour " to the Black Watch. In 1881 it
was made the 2nd Battalion Black Watch,
and resumed the doublet, kilt and feather
bonnet.

The spirit of the Earl of Airlie is alive to-day —
as much alive as it was in Scotland, when the
" Heroes of Perthshire " laid their lives at the
feet of him they believed to be their rightful
king. Then, as since, they lived and died fighting ;
and, out of their brave deeds from that to this,
there has arisen the peculiar significance of those
three words — thrilling and dear to British hearts,
chilling and terrible to Britain's foes — THE BLACK
WATCH.

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES. — The Royal Cypher within the Garter. The badge and motto of
the Order of the Thistle. In each of the four corners the Royal Cypher, unsigned
with the Royal Crown.

BATTLE HONOURS. — The Sphinx, superscribed Egypt. Mysore, Mangalore,
Seringapatam, Corunna, Fuentes d'Onoro, Pyrenees, Nivelk, Nive, Orthes,
Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, S. Africa 1846-47, 1851-53, Alma, Sevastopol,
Lucknow, Ashantee, Egypt 1882-84, Tel-el-Kebir, Nile 1884-85, Kirbekan,
S. Africa 1899-1902, Paardeberg.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Batts., scarlet and blue facings.

[The ist Battn. was first formed from the independent companies raised
in 1729 from the Highland clans, and received the name of Black Watch from
the hue of its tartan. The newly-formed regiment greatly distinguished itself
at Fontenoy and against the French in N. America. At Ticonderoga it lost
25 officers, 19 sergeants, and 603 rank and file in killed and wounded, and

112 British Regiments at the Front

received the title of Royal Highlanders in recognition of its bravery. The 2nd
Battn., raised in 1780, became a separate regirncut in 1786, and it was this Battn.
a detachment of which was in the wreck of the Birkenhead. The Black Watch
gained the red hackle during the campaign in Flanders (1794-95). The 4and
was one of the four regiments mentioned in dispatches after Waterloo. The
and Battn. was at Magersfontein in 1899, where it lost 19 officers and over 300
killed and wounded. This regiment has a record which is only equalled by one
or two regiments in the British Army.]

THE MANCHESTER REGIMENT
(" THE BLOODSUCKERS ")

" Shew me a well authenticated instance of the
troops of any other nation gaining and holding an
' impossible ' position against fearful odds, and I
will shew you a wavering in, or, at least, a qualifica-
tion of, our national faith that our allied British
infantry is the best in the world." — French Daily
Newspaper, August, 1914.

IT 'was at Elandslaagte that the ist Battalion of
this gallant regiment, together with the Gordon
Highlanders and the Light Horse, distinguished
themselves in a terrible passage of arms. The
following graphic account is taken down from
the words of a soldier who went through that
terrible affair :

" It was nearly five o'clock on that day,"

he said, " when it seemed to be growing

curiously dark. And we soon saw the reason.

As our men moved forward the heavens

113

114 British Regiments at the Front

opened, and from the eastern sky swept a
sheet of rain. With the first stabbing drops
the horses turned their heads, and no whip
or spur could bring them up to it. It drove
through our mackintoshes as if they were
blotting-paper ; the air was filled with a
hissing sound, and underfoot you could see
the solid earth pounded into mud, and the
mud flowing away in streams of slush. The
rain blotted out hill and dale and enemy in
one great curtain of swooping water. You
would have said that the heavens had opened
to drown the wrath of man.

" Through it the guns still thundered, and
the khaki column pushed doggedly on. The
infantry got among the boulders and began
to open out. The supports and reserves
followed. Then, in a twinkling, on the
stone-pitted hill-face, burst loose another
storm — a storm of lead and death. In the
first line, down behind the rocks, the men
were firing fast, and the bullets came pelting
round them. The men stooped, and stag-
gered, and dropped limply, as if a string
that held them upright had been cut. The

The Manchester Regiment 115

line pushed on, and the colonel fell, shot in
the arm.

" The regiment pursued their way until
they came to a rocky ledge twenty feet high.
Here they clung to cover, firing, then rose,
and were among the shrill bullets again.
A major was left at the bottom of the ridge
with a pipe in his mouth, and a Mauser bullet
through his leg. His company rushed on.
Onwards and upwards — down, fire again —
up again, and on. Another ridge won and
passed, and only one more hellish hail of
bullets beyond. More men down. More
men hurried forward into the firing line —
— more death-piping bullets than ever. The
air was a sieve of them ; they came with un-
ceasing ping, and beat on the boulders like
a million hammers ; they ploughed the rocks
and tore the turf like harrows. Another ridge
crowned, another whistling gust of perdition.
More men down ; more men pushing into
the firing line. Half the officers killed or
wounded — the men panted and stumbled
on — another ridge taken ! God ! would this
cursed hill never end ? It was sown with

116 British Regiments at the Front

bleeding and dead behind us ; it was edged
with stinging fire before. ' Fix bayonets ! '
Staff officers rushed up, urging the men on.
There was now no line, only a surging wave.
Devonshires, Gordon Highlanders, Man-
chesters, and Light Horse all mixed —
subalterns commanding regiments, soldiers
yelling advice, officers firing carbines—all
stumbling, leaping, killing, falling — all drunk
with battle. At length we gained the ridge,
and saw the Boer camp below. The Boers
were galloping out of it helter skelter, with
Lancers and Dragoon Guards spearing and
stamping them into the ground. Suddenly
we heard the bugle call ' Cease fire ! ' and,
wondering slightly at such an order at such
a time, we began to retire. But we were
soon met by a boy bugler rushing forward,
who, in reply to our remarks about the
order, yelled, ' Cease fire be damned ! '
And then we discovered that the Boers,
who had learnt our bugle calls, had blown
the blast. On this, we turned about,
charged again, and so made good the battle
of Elandslaagte."

The Manchester Regiment 117

THEIR BADGE AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.
BADOE.~The Sphinx, superscribed Egypt.

BATTLE HONOURS. — Egmont-op-Zee, Martinique, Guadaloupe, Peninsula,
Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, New Zealand, Afghanistan 1879-80, Egypt 1882,
S. Africa 1899-1902, Defence of Ladysmith.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battn., scarlet with white facings.

[ist Battn. raised in 1685, and Battn. in 1801. The ist Battn. was formerly
a Battn. of the 8th Foot, and became the Gsrd Regiment in 1758. It served as
Mounted Infantry during the war of American Independence, and won great
distinction. The and Battn. was formerly the Minorca Regiment, and became
part of the line in 1804 as the 97th (Queen's German) Regiment. In 1816 it
became the g6th (Queen's Own), and was disbanded in 1818. Raised again
in 1824. The ist Battn. displayed great courage and steadiness during the
Siege of Ladysmith (1899).]

THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS
" (SCOTLAND FOR EVER ")

" You have saved the day, Highlanders, but you
must return to your position. There is more work
to be done." — Sir Denis Pack at Waterloo.

SIR DENIS PACK'S words at Waterloo are as true
to-day as they were then. The Gordons have
always saved the day, and now they must return
to their position. There is more work to be done
and the Gordons are there to do it, as before.

The following is an extract from a letter to Sir
Walter Scott from Viscount Vanderfosse, first
Advocate of the Superior Court of Justice of
Brussels, dated January 5th, 1816 :

" Since the arrival of the British troops
on the Continent, their discipline was re-
marked by all those who had any communica-
tion with them. Among these respectable
warriors the Scotch deserve to be particularly

118

The Gordon Highlanders 119

commemorated, and this honourable mention
is due to their discipline, their patience,
their humanity, and their bravery almost
without example. Constant and unheard
of proofs were given of devotion to their
country quite extraordinary and sublime ;
nor must we forget that these men, so terrible
in the field of battle, were mild and tranquil
out of it."

Such a testimonial from so high an authority is
a treasured document in the hands of the Gordons,
and many are the accounts received to-day from
the front, which go to show that their cheery
optimism has not been dimmed by the passage of
a century.

Perhaps there is no regiment that blends so
nicely the simple humour characteristic of the
Scot with the grim determination in which no
section of our army is wanting. There are many
points which soften to our hearts the fierce
homicidal glory of the Gordon Highlanders.
But first in importance is their grim and terrible
side.

On the eventful night of the Duchess of

120 British Regiments at the Front

Richmond's ball on the eve of Waterloo, Colonel
Cameron, and some of the N.C. officers of the
Gordon Highlanders, had been invited to give
the guests of different nations there assembled
a display of the Highland dances. Poets have
sung the sudden call to arms at the " Cannon's
opening roar," but it was not until daybreak
that the Gordons marched off through the Namur
Gate towards the scene of action.

On this occasion their panoply of war set
everyone a-thrill. With their dark plumes waving
in the breeze, and the bright sun shining on their
polished accoutrements, they marched to the
screel of the bagpipes. Never had the spectators
beheld a prouder, braver, more athletic body of
men ; there was not a downcast look among them ;
only the fearless eye, the undaunted mien, the
cheerful bearing — things which tell of strength.

In this mood they marched as far as the forest
of Soignies, near Waterloo. Thence, as the day
advanced, they proceeded towards Quatre Bras.
The heat was intense, the dust suffocating, but,
after a wearisome march, they reached Genappe,
where the people were waiting for the thirsty
regiment with large tubs of water, and of milk,

The Gordon Highlanders 121

from which the Highlanders dipped and drank
as they passed through the town. Hard on this
refreshment, as they came into the plain beyond,
was a further refreshment to the warlike spirit
of the Highlanders ; it was the sound of cannon
that fell upon their ears " nearer, clearer than
before." There was a general quickening of pace
as the excitement of promised action ran quickly
through the ranks, but Colonel Cameron checked
their eagerness, and held them back, though with
difficulty.

It so chanced, by good luck, or good manage-
ment, that the Gordons arrived at Quatre Bras
just at the very moment they were needed.
Wellington had come in with full information from
Bliicher as to the position of the Prussian army,
and a fuller scorn of their tactics in selecting that
position — a scorn which was justified by the event.
" If they fight here," he said, in his terse and
forcible way, " they will be damnably mauled."
The Duke was a true prophet. They were, in
two words, " mauled."

The enemy's action began with a fierce cannon-
ade, under cover of which a brigade of infantry
and lancers were hurled forward, Our Belgian-

122 British Regiments at the Front

Dutch allies fell back, and their retreat was con-
verted into a rout by the enemy, who speedily
became masters of the situation. Things were
critical, but, at that moment, in came the
Gordon Highlanders by the Namur road. Their
march broke into a double, and their ranks
opened and overflowed each side of the road,
deploying for immediate action. At once came
an answer from a battery of the enemy perched
on one of the surrounding heights. By this
time the Duke was amongst the Highlanders,
giving orders to seek cover in the ditches and
behind the banks of the road ; he and his staff
following their example. They had not long to
wait, under a terrible fire, before the French
cuirassiers came sweeping through the fields
towards them. On they came, with furious
cries, a formidable body ; but the Highlanders t
under command of the Duke, waited in grim
silence, reserving their fire. " Highlanders ! "
the Duke cried, " don't fight until I tell you/'
and so the Gordons lay, ready for the signal. It
came when the charging cuirassiers were within
thirty yards of them. Then a fierce volley rang
out, and havoc lighted on the horsemen. Horses

The Gordon Highlanders 123

and steel-clad riders went down pell mell, and,
in the confusion, the survivors turned and fled
before the coming steel. Many, whose horses
were shot beneath them, attempted to cope with
the Scots, but all their valour was as nothing
before the bayonets of the Gordons.

At another stage of the battle, when the Duke
of Brunswick's hussars were in flight before the
red (Polish) lancers and French light .infantry,
Wellington, involved in the charge, and carried
away in their mad career, was in great danger ;
but, seeing a way out, he headed his horse for a
position that had been taken up by the Gordons.
As he neared them, at full gallop, he ordered them
to lie still ; then he leapt the intervening fence
clearing, at one jump, fence, trench, and men.
With the Gordons now between him and the foe,
he wheeled his horse to a standstill, and ordered
the Highlanders to get ready. The Brunswickers
had passed, severely handled by the French
bayonets, and the grenadiers, on the right,
retired to the road, leaving the Gordons an
opportunity to fire obliquely upon the oncoming
cavalry. These shared the same fate as the
cuirassiers, being met at short distance with a

124 British Regiments at the Front

volley which threw them into confusion. Those
in front were cut off, by dead and wounded, from
those in the rear, who retreated in disorder,
while the front passed on in their headlong career,
which was really a retreat, through the village-
Meanwhile, the Gordons turned their attention
to the rest, and put them to rout.

Now Napoleon had impressed upon Ney to act
in a manner that must prove decisive. The
British had to be swept entirely oft the field — the
fate of France depended upon this. Ney's
position was a difficult one, especially as he saw
that reinforcements were coming up against him.
Accordingly, he attacked again vigorously, and
sent two columns of cavalry down upon the posts
held by the Gordons. But these met with a
similar fate to those who had tried that way
before. But Ney still persisted and the Gordons
were suffering heavily. How the day would have
gone, and what would have happened to our
Highlanders had not the Guards come up on
their left soon afterwards, military experts alone
can conjecture ; but even with their assistance
— and very welcome it was — the Gordons were
yet to experience a severer trial.

The Gordon Highlanders 125

It came in this way. Two columns of French
infantry advanced rapidly, by means of the
Charleroi road, and the outskirts of the wood of
Bossu, and occupied a roadside house, with a
thick hedge running some distance into a field,
a part of their number gaining the cover of a
thickly-hedged garden on the other side of the
road. The main body of these troops, some
14,000 strong, took up a position in the rear of
this garden.

Colonel Cameron with difficulty curbed his
eagerness to let his men go, but the Duke, who
foresaw a prolonged struggle, refused to allow it.
He was, as usual, waiting for the right moment.
When that moment came, and the order was
given, Cameron leapt the ditch, at the head of
his men, with old General Barnes at his side,
crying, " Come on, my old gand ! " Then, to
the shrill piping of the pibrochs, the intrepid
Gordons leapt from the ditch and fell upon the
enemy with an impetus that was irresistible.
The bayonet did its terrible work, and the opposing
column fell back in confusion.

Meanwhile other sections advanced upon the
hedged garden, the house, and the field hedge,

126 British Regiments at the Front

suffering heavily from these points. It was in
this advance that the staff of the colour was split
into six pieces by three bullets, and the staff
of the king's colour by one. It was here, too,
that Cameron himself was wounded. Being shot
in the groin, he lost control of his horse, which
galloped away with him, and finally stopped
suddenly before his own groom, who was holding
a second horse. There Cameron, in a fainting
condition, was thrown out of the saddle violently
on to the road.

Colonel Cameron died of his wound late that
night, but not before he had learnt that the
British arms had conquered — a fact which forms
the theme of Sir Walter Scott's immortal verse :

And Sunart rough, and wild Ardgour,

And Morven long shall tell,
And proud Ben Nevis hear with awe,
How, upon bloody Quatre-Bras,
Brave Cameron heard the wild hurrah

Of conquest as he fell.

Meanwhile, the Gordons had fully avenged
their leader's death. With repeated rushes upon
the roadside house, they did deadly work with
the bayonet, and, amid the hail of bullets from

i

The Gordon Highlanders 127

superior forces of the enemy, they still continued
their fierce onslaughts under conditions that
would have demoralized soldiers less cool and
experienced.

In the midst of the appalling fire, they separated
and formed up in three parts, one part moving
to the right of the house and garden, another
part to the left, while a third prepared to assault
the garden itself. At a given moment, when the
whole battalion was ready, the order to charge
was given. Then, with a resounding cheer, they
rushed forward, " the bagpipes screaming out
the notes of the ' Cameron's Gathering,' as they
levelled their bayonets, and charged with the
elastic step learnt on the hillside."

The enemy stood firm for a little while against
the oncoming array of determined men ; then
they broke and fled, showing their backs as
targets for the Highlanders, who scattered the
passage of their retreat thickly with their dead
bodies. In this action many prisoners were
taken.

The British troops, though in the minority in
guns, as well as men, stood like a rock against
the searching assaults of the enemy. Ebb and

128 British Regiments at the Front

flow was the order of battle, until at last the
flow of our indomitable troops gained ground,
and the enemy finally ebbed away.

Our last victory in that furious battle was
gained foot by foot, and when, in the end, the
day was won, and the stars looked down upon
10,000 slain, the piper of the Gordon Highlanders
took his stand in front of the village of Quatre
Bras to call the Highlanders in. " Loud and
long blew Cameron," says one who heard that
call of the highland mountain and the glen, " but
his efforts could not gather above half of those
whom his music had cheered on their march to the
battlefield."

Our Gordons had been through the thick of
the fight ; at the close of the day they were
terribly hungry, and with the cool sang-froid
which is the necessary complement to the bravery
of such men, they took their supper cooked
and served in the cuirasses which had shone in
the enemy's forefront of battle some hours
before.

Various writers tell of the extreme kindness
received by the Gordons after- the battle from
the inhabitants of Brussels and Antwerp. The

The Gordon Highlanders 129

" good and brave Scots " came in on drays and
wagons, apparently none the worse for the
fierce encounter, saving merely the loss of a leg,
or an arm or two. " We're a' wantin' a leg or
a' airm," cried one from the midst of a wagon-
load of wounded, as if it were a kind of fraternal
greeting. The good folk, seeing their plight,
and not understanding the language, brought
them wine in abundance, but the Highlanders
did not understand the colour of it, and called
for " guid sma' ale " as the next best thing to
their own " white wine of the north."

Tales of suffering in those days cannot vie in
magnitude with the tales of to-day, but it is
interesting to note that the endurance and
patience of the Highlanders, as they lay on the
wagons, or came in on foot, fainting with weari-
ness and loss of blood, called forth the remark,
as they passed through the street, " the men of
your country must be made of iron."

It remains to touch on the Highlanders'
own account of this battle. It was simple and
unpretentious in the extreme. One who had
been severely wounded, and was lying on the
paving stones, waiting to be attended to, was

130 British Regiments at the Front

accosted by an English resident. " How you
and your comrades fought ! " he said. " Your
bravery will be the talk of the world. There is
no doubt, as the people here say, you and your
countrymen are made of iron." " Hoots, man,"
replied the Highlander, " need ye mak' sic a din
aboot the like o' that ? What did we gang oot
for but to fecht ? "

It goes without saying that false reports of any
considerable engagement were spread through
the countryside, even in those days. A chronicler
states that Mercer, when making his way to the
scene of action, happened on a Gordon High-
lander, toiling painfully along the road, badly
wounded in the knee. " Halt ! " cried Mercer.
" Have you any information ? The Belgians
tell me that our army has been forced to retreat."
" Na, na," replied the Scot ; " it's a damned
lee ! When I cam' awa' they were fechtin', an'
they're aye fechtin' yet." With that, he sat
down on the roadside and calmly lit his pipe,
while a prentice surgeon probed for the bullet in
his knee.

Another incident preserved in the records of
the Gordons is related by a Scotch lady who

The Gordon Highlanders 131

resided at that time in Antwerp, She had
heard reports of a retreat from Quatre Bras,
and other mis-statements concerning Mont St.
Jean had also reached her ears, all to the effect
that the British had suffered severe defeat ; that
Wellington was dangerously wounded, and that
all of any account in our army were either killed
or taken prisoners. Moreover, thousands of
French troops had entered Brussels, and that
on the heels of death and destruction came panic
and dismay. Needless to say, this was not true,
except in one point only — that 2,000 French
had entered Brussels ; but it was in the r61e of
prisoners, not victors ! On the following day the
Scotch lady went out in search of news, and was
met by a long procession of vehicles laden with
the wounded. Not a word of victory could she
get on any hand, until she observed, in the very
last wagon, a group of Gordon Highlanders,
badly wounded, and heavily bandaged. They
evidently knew something, for they were throwing
their bonnets in the air, and shouting : " Bony's
beat ! Hurrah for Bonnie Scotland ! Hurrah
for Merrie England ! Bony's beat ! " Recognizing
the Highland spirit, the lady sought to learn the

132 British Regiments at the Front

cause of their excitement, and they told her,
between their wild cries of joy, that a rider
had just sped by, bringing the glad news of
victory.

It was not easy for the people of Brussels to
gather the real import of this news either from
the lady or the Highlanders, but it began to
spread about, in what to them was an unknown
tongue, though forcible in vociferation, that
" Bony was beat and runnin* awa' to his ain
country just as fast as he could gang." Yet
there was no explaining it to them, and it was in
vain that a brawny, bearded Highlander took a
Belgian woman to task with the words, " Canna
ye hear, ye auld witch ? Are ye deaf ? Bony's
beat, I tell ye ! I tell ye, Bony's beat, wumman ! "
It was no good ! But the full significance of the
fact was soon made known in the city, and then
there was wild rejoicing on every hand.

In those times the Belgian people conceived
and fostered a great love for the Gordon High-
landers, and no doubt the tradition has been
handed down to this day that they are the best
of soldiers, sweet and gentle in peace, and terrible
in war.

The Gordon Highlanders 133

The part played by the Gordons in the repulse
of the Boer attack on Ladysmith, January 6th,
1900, is never to be forgotten. It was here that
Lieutenant Colonel Dick-Cunyngham, V.C., fell
at the head of his men. It was during the Afghan
campaign that this hero of the Gordons received
his V.C., when they were fighting outside Kabul
in 1879. Staggered for a moment by a terrific
onslaught on the part of the Afghans, the Gordons,
their leading officer and colour-sergeant being
killed, seemed to hesitate, when Dick-Cunyngham
sprang forward, and, by his remarkable coolness
and gallantry, saved the situation.

In later days, the Gordon Highlanders have
maintained and even added to the reputation
thus bravely won. One signal instance is found
in their attacks on the Dargai heights. On
October i8th, 1897, the Gordons formed part of
the flanking movement under Brigadier-General
Kempster. The heights were won, but were
shortly re-occupied by the enemy. On the follow-
ing day, a second battle was joined about this
position. Under Sir William Lockhart the Gor-
dons displayed their usual fighting power. In
the " Broad Arrow " of February, i8th, 1898, Sir

134 British Regiments at the Front

William Lockhart himself described the part they

played :

" The Gordon Highlanders went straight
up the hill without check or hesitation.
Headed by their pipers, and led by Colonel
Mathias, with Major Macbean on his right,
and Lieutenant A. F. Gordon on his left,
this splendid battalion marched across the
open. It dashed through a murderous fire,
and in forty minutes had won the heights,
leaving three officers and thirty men killed
or wounded on its way. The first rush
of the Highlanders was deserving of the
highest praise, for they had just undergone
a very severe climb, and had reached a point
beyond which other troops had been unable
to advance for over three hours. The first
rush was followed at short intervals by a
second and a third, each led by officers ; and,
as the leading companies went up the path
for the final assault, the remainder of the
troops streamed on in support, but few of
the enemy waited for the bayonet, many of
them being shot down as they fled in
confusion."

The Gordon Highlanders 135

Supremely heroic on a point of romantic senti-
ment is our Gordon Highlander. When Cameron
fell at Quatre Bras, he was not only mortally
wounded, but pinned down by his horse. In this
helpless condition he was recognised by one of
the enemy, who swiftly rushed forward to bayonet
him. But swifter still came the cold steel of
Ewen Macmillan (the Colonel's foster brother) and
pierced the would-be murderer to the heart.
Ewen extricated his leader and bore him off ;
then, his master safe, he turned back with the
set purpose of securing the saddle on which he
had sat through many a victorious battle. In
the thick of the fight the imperturbable Scot,
amid a hail of bullets, secured that saddle and
returned safely with it to his company, exhibiting
it with a fine mingling of triumph and regret.
" We must leave them the carcase," he said,
" but they shan't get the saddle where Fassiefern
sat." That was what he had risked his life a
thousand times a minute for — the saddle where
Fassiefern had sat !

And not only in stirring deeds of deathless glory
have the Gordon Highlanders shone in the starry
sky of Britain's fame. In the course of their long

136 British Regiments at the Front

career they have been called upon to suffer and
endure tests of hardship and privation, which
prove the true mettle of the British soldier. They
have played many parts in the theatre of war
where the limelight did not fall. It was even their
fate to take part in the terrible retreat to Bremen.
Mr. W. Richards gives a grim description of some
of these hardships :

" The high, keen wind carried the drifted
snow and sand with such violence that the
human frame could scarcely resist its power ;
the cold was intense ; the water, which
collected in the hollow eyes of the men, con-
gealed as it fell, and hung in icicles from
their eyelashes ; the breath froze, and hung
in icy incrustations about their haggard
faces, and on the blankets and coats which
they wrapped about them/'

But, with the Gordons, the hardy spirit in
which they weathered all this was only a modifica-
tion of that which carried them into their
most glorious triumphs on the field of battle.

The Gordon Highlanders 137

Speaking of hardships and remembering the strong
spirit of camaraderie which has always existed
between our soldiers of all regiments, we cannot
help reminding the Gordons that their 2nd Batta-
lion owes the Coldstreamers one ration. It hap-
pened in this way. When the Gordons arrived
at Fuentes d'Onoro both officers and men were
literally starving, owing to a faulty commissariat ;
and no sooner did the Guards get wind of this
than they volunteered a ration of biscuits, from
their haversacks. Now, as the Coldstreamers will
not be able to get those biscuits from the enemy,
who appears to have " embarked without them,"
they may require them again from the Gordons
and they should insist on having them well
buttered.

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC,

BADGM.— The Sphinx, superscribed Egypt. The Royal Tiger, superscribed
India.

BATTLE HONOURS. — Mysore, Seringapatam, Egmont-op-Zee, Mandora,
Corunna, Fuentes d'Onoro, Almaraz, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nive, Orthes, Peninsula,
Waterloo, S. Africa 1835, Delhi, Lucknow, Charasiah, Kabul 1879, Kandahar
1880, Afghanistan 1878-80, Egypt 1882-84, Tel-el-Kebir, Nile 1884-85, Chitral,
Tirah, S. Africa 1889-1902, Paardeberg, Defence of Ladysmjth,

ft*

138 British Regiments at the Front

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with yellow facings.

[To the first regiment (the 8gth), raised in 1759, there belong the romances
of two notable men. One was the Duke's brother, Lord William, who after-
wards ran away with Lady Sarah Bunbury, and th« other was Lord George,
the future rioter. A further romance belongs to the Gordons proper. When,
in 1794, the 4th D. of G. was commissioned to raise a regiment for the King,
with the Duke's son/Lord Huntly, as its colonel, his wife Jane, " the Bonnie
Duchess," acted as her son's recruiting sergeant. Day after day she rode in
among them at their gatherings, and with the King's shilling between her teeth,
kissed them into the army. " Now, lads ; whose for a soldier's life — and a kiss
o' the Duchess Jean ? " Her ambition for her son in the way of masculine
counterpoise to the brilliant alliances of her daughters does not matter so much
as that the Gordons sprang into being at the touch of her lips — which is a legend
greatly treasured among Highlanders.]

THE CONNAUGHT RANGERS
(" THE GARVIES ")

" Rangers of Connaught, the eyes of all Ireland
are on you this day. On then, and at them, and if
you do not give them the soundest thrashing they
have ever got in their lives, you needn't look me in
the face again in this world or the next.'1 — Colonel-
in-Command at the Front.

TOWARDS the close of the Transvaal War the 2nd
Battalion of the Connaught Rangers performed
a heroic feat, which tended to mitigate the peace-
with-little-honour feeling which marked the peace
negotiations of 1879.

Lydenberg was garrisoned by some seventy
men, fifty- three of whom were Connaught Rangers,
the whole being under the command of Lieut.
Long, a mere stripling lad of twenty-two. Soon
after Brunker's Spruit the Boers called upon

139

140 British Regiments at the Front

Lydenberg to surrender, thinking that the lad of
twenty-two would do as he was told like an
obedient boy. But they soon found that they
were mistaken. Long wisely temporised, and
made use of a few days thus gained to strengthen
his defences. Soon came the Boers' second
demand of surrender, and this time it was scorn-
fully flung back. So, on the 6th January, the
Boers' bombarded the place, but the little garrison
held out, and, for twelve weeks, the forces of
siege, sickness, hunger and thirst failed to break
the spirit of the gallant band. Then, when peace
was declared, the Q4th had no cause to feel
ashamed, for in their hands Lydenberg had never
surrendered. The British flag still fluttered
above it. Worn and exhausted by terrible hard-
ships and privations, but still unconquered, the
survivors came forth in peace.

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES.— The Harp and Crown. The Elephant. The Sphinx, superscribed
Egypt.

MOTTO.—-" Quis Separabit."
BATTLB HONOURS.— Seringapatam, Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes d'Onoro,

The Connaught Rangers 141

Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse,
Peninsula, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Central India, S. Africa 1877-79,
1899-1902, Relief of Ladysmith.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with green facings.

[Raised in 1793 in Connaught. Both Battns. gained undying fame in the
Peninsula War, the regiment having the honour of forming the forlorn hope
at the storming of both Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo. The regiment also fought
with distinction in the Crimea and the Indian Mutiny. During the Boer War
of 1899 the ist Battn. formed part of the famous Irish Brigade in Natal, and in
1901 it became a battn. of mounted infantry.]

THE ARGYLL AND SUTHERLAND HIGH-
LANDERS

("THE THIN RED LINE")

" Wherever they have lived and fought they have
carried with them the fearless picturesqueness of
their indomitable mountains/'

AT Sevastopol, as at few other battles in the
history of wars, was displayed the most magnifi-
cent valour of the Highlander. The approaches
to Balaclava were protected by six batteries
manned by Turks, who, it will be remembered,
were in those days our allies. On October 25th,
1854, the Russians made a determined attack
on these redoubts, speedily captured three of
the batteries, and at once turned them on the
93rd Highlanders, under Sir Colin Campbell, com-
pelling them to seek cover behind a slight ridge.
No sooner had they done so than a horde of
Russian cavalry swept down upon them, whereat

142

The 93rd Highlanders 143

Sir Colin ordered his men to breast the ridge
and hold it against them at all costs. " Men/'
he said, " there is no retreat from here ; you
must die where you stand." "Ay, ay, Sir
Colin," was the cool response, " and we'll do
that if needs be."

The men were only two or three deep, but that
" thin red line," bristling with steel, was none the
less formidable for that. Every heart was
staunch and every hand was steady. Nearer
and nearer came the rolling thunder of the
Russian cavalry, quickening as it came. They
were now at 600 yards. " Fire ! " the order was
given, and the lead went forth, but the Russians,
though galled, still came on. At 200 yards a
second volley rang out, and this time the enemy
wavered and could only be rallied by the remark-
able determination of their officers. Their swerve
was headed into a flank attack, but the High-
landers stood firm as their native rocks, and met
their last onrush with volley on volley.

" Then had you seen a gallant shock
When saddles were emptied and lances broke."

The enemy, now in confusion, looked at the

144 British Regiments at the Front

cold steel awaiting them, turned in dismay and
fled in disorder to the shelter of their own
guns.

The 93rd were also at Lucknow, and the way
they came to the rescue of the hard-pressed
garrison of that city makes a thrilling episode.

Well known is the story of Jessie, the Scotch
nurse, who was within the fortifications of Luck-
now when the final grip of despair was closing
on the beleaguered garrison. Sitting musing on
the hope of death as against the horrors of sur-
render, she suddenly raised her head and listened.
Was she dreaming of the hills and glens of her
native land, which she might never see again,
or was that the sound of the pibrochs floating
on the breeze from far away ? She started up,
declaring that she heard the wild music of her
own country drawing nearer and nearer out of the
distance. Others listened, but could hear nothing,
and thought that Jessie was fey. But the
simple-living Scotch folk are renowned for their
second sight and clairaudience, and the event
proved that Jessie was right ; for at that moment,
though far beyond the range of physical hearing,
the Highlanders, under Sir Colin Campbell, were

The 93rd Highlanders 145

marching swiftly towards Lucknow, with Cameron
striding at their head, blowing his loudest.

When they arrived at the city they made no
pause, but swept down on the dastardly foe with
irresistible force, while the bagpipes screamed
and the men cheered wildly. Then ensued a
running fight lasting some hours, after which
post after post was seized and occupied until
finally the siege was raised, and Sir Colin Camp-
bell and Sir Henry Havelock met within the city
and shook hands on a glorious relief.

THEIR BADGES, BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADOBS. — A Boar's Head within a wreath of myrtle. A Cat within a wreath
of broom, all over the label as represented in the arms of the Princess Louise,
and surmounted with H.R.H.'s coronet. In each of the four corners the Princess
Louise Cypher and Coronet.

MOTTOES. — " Ne obliviscaris." " Sans peur."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Cape of Good Hope 1806, Rolica, Vimlera, Corunna,
Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Alma, Balaclava, Sevas-
topol, Lucknow, S. Africa 1846-47, 1851-53, 1879, 1899-1902, Modder River,
Paardeberg.

UNIFORM. — Regular and Reserve Battns., scarlet with yellow facings.

[ist Battn. (Argyllshire Highlanders) : raised in 1794 by the Duke of Argyll,
and Battn. (Sutherland Highlanders) : raised by the Duke of Sutherland in 1800.
The ist Battn. formed the bulk of the heroes of the wreck of the Birkenhead.
The 2nd Battn. were the celebrated " thin red line" at Balaclava. The regi-
ment won great distinction during the Indian Mutiny. It formed part of General
Wauchope's force at Magersfontein (1899).]

THE DUBLIN FUSILIERS,

("THE OLD TOUGHS")

THE Dublin Fusiliers had a large share in writing
the red history of India. Their prestige has
been drawn mainly from the East. Indeed,
although they have been in existence 246 years,
they never set eyes on the white cliffs of Dover
until the other day, so to speak, in 1871. On
their colours stand the Royal Tiger of Bengal,
and the Indian Elephant, together with the
honours — Plassey, Mysore, The Carnatic, Buxar,
and many others gained in India which are
unknown to any other regiment. In the con-
quest of India they were dive's men, Warren
Hastings' men, and " their names are the names
of the victories of England." It is scarcely too
much to say that Indian territory was made
British by the Dublin Fusiliers. The story
of how India would have become part of the
French Empire but for the daring genius of an

146

The Dublin Fusiliers 147

obscure youth and the indomitable valour of
the Dublin Fusiliers makes thrilling reading.

The French had laid siege to Trichinopoly,
knowing that, with its fall, fell India into their
hands ; but Clive, a young man of twenty-five years,
a born genius, without any further acquirement in
the way of special training, evolved as if by
a heaven-sent inspiration — a sudden plan — the
consummate daring of which has not been equalled
in the history of any other nation. It was, in
brief, to raise the siege of Trichinopoly by dealing
a sledge-hammer stroke upon Arcot, the capital
of the Carnatic — a city whose population was
100,000, and whose garrison consisted of 1,100
trained men. Clive proposed to subdue this
strongly defended city with 200 Dublin Fusiliers
and 300 Sepoys. This unheard-of intention
must have had something unseen and undreamt
of behind it, as the shadow of the coming event.
The issue proved this. With his handful of men,
tuned to his own pitch of enthusiasm, he marched
boldly on Arcot during the night. He was not
alone. His allies were the elements. As he
neared the gates of the city, they broke loose.
The lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and

148 British Regiments at the Front

the rain descended in torrents. In the midst of
this, he and his little band entered the city as
if at the head of an unknown mighty army.
These men, who came attended by the artillery
of the storm gods, by the lightning's flash and
search-light, seemed all too many for the garrison.
Terrified, they fled in tumult and disorder, and
Clive by this master-stroke, aided by That which
has aided Britain many times in a moment of
daring extremity, seized Arcot, and held it.

But this master-stroke required confirmation
before it was effective. It yet remained for
Clive, and his brave band to display the endurance
and patience necessary to hold what was won.
The besiegers of Trichinopoly gathered reinforce-
ments, and beleaguered Arcot. Ten thousand
men enforced that place. In the course of days
four officers, nearly 100 Dublin Fusiliers and
over 100 Sepoys were lost. Says an eye-witness
who describes the place, " The ramparts were too
narrow to admit the guns, the battlements too
low to protect the soldiers." In this siege,
which lasted fifty days, elephants were used by
the besieging hosts. With the battering-rams
slung between them, they were pushed forward

The Dublin Fusiliers 149

against the walls, but the " Dubs " sent such
a fusilade against them that the beasts turned
tail, and trampled hundreds of the enemy to
death.

The little body of Dublin Fusiliers and Sepoys
—it was the first, but not the last time that
Indian troops have fought bravely by our side
— held out, and finally the enemy, after a fierce
attack, in which they were worsted, retreated.
Clive followed them up remorselessly. In that
pursuit Pondicherry and Tan j ore were taken,
and now, at Plassey, were 100 British, and 2,000
Sepoys, who, in a decisive action, defeated 60,000
of the enemy under Surajah Dowlah. This
superiority of a cause which, reinforcing an
inferiority of men, has proved, through thick
blood and thin, to be at the behest of civilisation,
is not without its far-off echo in the present day.

It needs to be added that the whole of the
honours of the Dublin Fusiliers, until " South
Africa, 1899-1902," and " Relief of Ladysmith,"
were won by the Madras Fusiliers and Bombay
Fusiliers (East India Company's regiments). It
was only in 1881 that they were given the name
*' Royal Dublin Fusiliers," and as such, our

150 British Regiments at the Front

English, Scotch and Welsh have never a fault to
find with them.

It was at Arcot that Lieutenant Trewith, of
the Madras Fusiliers, saved dive's life at the
expense of his own, and so, indirectly, yet
practically, saved India. At a moment when
Clive was unaware of danger Trewith saw one
of the besiegers taking a long, steady aim at him
through a small breach. There was no time
to do anything in the way of warning. There
was merely time to thrust his own body between
the bullet and Clive' s heart — between another
Power and India. That was a moment as
heroic for an individual as it was critical for a
nation.

From the battle of Plassey onwards, wherever
there was fighting, there were the Dublin Fusi-
liers. At Condore and Wandiwash, at Buxar and
Sholingur, they were present — not in numbers
but in force. It has ceased to be a strange thing
regarding the Dublin Fusiliers that their greatest
victories were those in which the odds were
against them.

At Cuddalore the " Dubs " saw the first step
of a romance which went far in a world of practical

The Dublin Fusiliers 151

reality. It was there that they took no less a
person than Bernadotte prisoner — Bernadotte,
the born leader of men, who afterwards married
Desiree Clary (the early love of Napoleon),
became Field Marshal, and died King of Sweden.
Little did those practical fighters think, when they
treated the young Bernadotte kindly at their
camp fire that they had actually captured
the future father of King Oscar of Sweden — a
monarch who received his name from his god-
fathei Napoleon Bonaparte, after his favourite
hero, Oscar of Ossian.

As the almost impossible name of Nundy
Droog has been glorified by the " Dubs," one
may fairly reason that the glory of a place-name
may be derived from what takes place there.
Nundy Droog is a fortress set upon a great
crag, nearly half a mile high. The story of
the three weeks' siege of this difficult place
has a sublime climax in the final and victorious
assault of the Dublin Fusiliers. It was night,
and the Indian moon shone full upon the giant
crag, whose serried points seemed to pierce the
sky, casting deep shadows on the rocky facets
and gloomy ravines. From far above fell the

152 British Regiments at the Front

bugle calls of the defenders, tossed by echo from
precipice to precipice, to die away in the dark
spaces. Then rang out an answering clarion
note from below, sounding the assault, and the
Dublin Fusiliers advanced up the sides of that
precipitous height. " Then,'* says a chronicler,
with a peculiar inversion of metaphorical allusion,
" hell opened above them, cannon shot ploughed
through them, musketry raked them, rockets
blasted them, great boulders rolled down from
above and carried many away." But, undaunted,
the Dublin Fusiliers climbed on and up, until
at last their final dash on the summit was so
determined that the enemy fled dismayed.

Later, standing in pools of blood where lay
women of Cawnpore, while little baby-shoes
floated about them, the Dublin Fusiliers — strong
men, sobbing with grief — vowed vengeance on
the perpetrators of the foulest deeds, and
saw it carried out. The murderers were captured
and blown from the guns, their hands smeared
with the blood of their innocent victims, and,
according to their own belief, their high-caste
souls consequently damned for ever.

The Dublin Fusiliers fought grandly in the

The Dublin Fusiliers 153

Boer War, and nothing could hold them back.
After Colenso they were found to be only 400
strong. In view of their terrible losses it was
decided to send them of£ to Frere to keep the
communications open. It was at parade that
they were informed of this, and they one and all
" nabbed the rust " and swore they would be
in the fighting line or die. They were expostu-
lated with, but all arguments were of no avail ;
the fighting spirit was too strong, and these
heroic fellows were allowed to remain to have
another cut at the enemy.

During the battle of Colenso occurred a real
" Irish " incident which is amusing. The " Dubs"
were advancing on the enemy's left flank under a
searching shell and rifle fire, when they paused
for cover at a poorly-sheltered spot. Here two
of the men had a private difference, and, with
the battle raging round them, and the bullets
whistling through their hair, they set about one
another with their fists, their comrades gathering
round and looking on with interest. When the
matter was satisfactorily settled, and the best
man had let the other up, the two shook hands,
and, joining common cause against the enemy,

154 British Regiments at the Front

coolly resumed the advance, and proceeded about
the less personal business of the day.

It was at Lucknow that Tommy Atkins, the
sentry, when he saw the people flying for the
Residency, refused to leave his post, and was
killed by the Sepoys. This proud nickname,
Tommy Atkins, has now come to mean any
soldier in the British Army, and rightly so, for,
be it said, they are all built on the same plan
as the one who immortalized their present name.

There are two true stories of the Dublin Fusiliers
which will bear repeating ; indeed, they are more
than true : they are tender and true, and show
the noblest form of self-sacrifice in the face of
unconquering death. At Natal, when Captain
Paton was severely wounded, one of his disabled
men crept to his side in the cold, teeming rain,
and lay with his arms about him all night long,
trying to keep the necessary warmth in his body.
And if you remind an old Dublin Fusilier of this
touching story, he will most probably tell you
another of eighty years ago, which is like unto it.
There were, so the records tell, two foster-brothers
in the Bombay Fusiliers (the 2nd " Dubs ") — the
younger an officer, and the elder a devil-may-care

The Dublin Fusiliers 155

private. " Ye'll be lookin' after the lad/' said
their mother, when they left for the front. " I
will/' replied the reckless one ; and he did.
They were found, years later, upon a mountain-
side in India, both dead, lying among dead and
wounded. But — and here is the lump in the
throat — the younger had been badly wounded,
and the elder only slightly ; but, dead from
exposure, there he lay by his brother's side,
stripped to the skin, all his clothes being piled
upon his mother's younger son to keep his ebbing
life-spark warm. Deep down in the devil-may-
care Bombay Fusilier who did that deed was
surely the spirit that conquers death, subjecting
it to the higher glory of Britain.

THEIR BADGES AND BATTLE HONOURS, ETC.

BADGES. — The Royal Tiger, superscribed, " Plassey," " Buxar." The
Elephant, superscribed " Carnatic," " Mysore."

MOTTO. — " Spectamur Agendo."

BATTLE HONOURS. — Arcot, Condore, Waudewash, Scholingur, Nundy Droog,
Amboyna, Ternate, Banda, Pondicherry, Mahidpoor, Guzerat, Serin gapa tarn,
Kirkee, Beni Boo Ally, Aden, Punjaub, Mooltan, Goojerat, Ava, Pegu, Lucknow,
S. Africa 1899-1902, Relief of Ladysmith.

UNIFORM. — Scarlet with blue facings.

FUENTES D'ONORO AND ALBUERA

"A battle's never lost until it's won."— Old
British proverb.

" Nothing could stop that astonishing infantry."

Napier.

As at Balaclava and Inkerman, a great number
of our Expeditionary regiments now contending
side by side at the front were present at the
victorious battle of Fuentes d'Onoro, and a new
significance attaches to that name from the
fact that these regiments were mainly responsible
for the victory on that occasion. The battle is
also very noteworthy in the annals of British
pluck and endurance for the number of times the
little village was taken and retaken in the course
of the day.

In September, 1810, Wellington, having beaten
Regnier and Ney at Busaco, withdrew to his
colossal defences at Torres Vedras. In the
following spring he again assumed the offensive,

156

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 157

and marched his army to Fuentes d'Onoro, where
the battle of glorious incident was fought. A
Highlander who was in the fight has described
it in the following picturesque narrative, which
as his description is taken from notes written in
camp, contains no indication as to his regiment,
and prudently refrains from mentioning the
names of most of the other regiments, we may
preface it with a list of the principal regiments
engaged. They were as follow 3

ist (Royal) Dragoons ; I4th (King's)
Hussars ; i6th (Queen's) Lancers ; the Cold-
stream Guards and Scots Guards ; King's
Royal Rifle Corps ; the Rifle Brigade ; ist
and 2nd Battalion Highland Light Infantry ;
2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders ; ist
Battalion Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) ;
ist Battalion South Wales Borderers ; ist
Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders;
Norfolk Regiment ; ist Battalion Yorkshire
Light Infantry ; ist Battalion Royal Irish
Rifles ; ist Battalion Connaught Rangers ;
i6th Lancers ; and others.

And here is his story, in the course of which

158 British Regiments at the Front

the reader must make what he can of the curious
fact that the cavalry on both sides were chiefly
Germans !

" Our regiment was moved to the village
of Fuentes d'Onoro, a few miles nearer Al-
meida. A great part of the way we moved
through a wood of oak trees, in which
the inhabitants of the surrounding villages
had herds of swine feeding ; here the voice
of the cuckoo was never mute ; night and
day its simple notes were heard in every
quarter of the wood.

" The village we now occupied was in
Spain. . . The site of the village was
beautiful and romantic ; it lay in a sort of
ravine, down which a small river brawled
over an irregular rocky bed, in some places
forming precipitous falls of many feet ;
the acclivity on each side was occasionally
abrupt, covered with trees and thick brush-
wood. Three leagues to the left of our
front lay the villages of Gallegos and Espeja,
in and about which our Light Division and
cavalry were quartered. Between this and

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 159

Fuentes lay a large wood, which, receding
on the right, formed a plain, flanked by a
deep ravine, being a continuation of that
in which the village lay. In our rear was
another plain, on which our army subse-
quently formed, and behind that, in a valley,
Villa Fermosa, the river Coa running past it.

" We had not been many days here when
we received intelligence that the light troops
were falling back upon our village, the
enemy having recrossed the Agueda in great
force, for the purpose of relieving Almeida,
which we had blockaded. On the morning
we received this intelligence (3rd May,
1811), our regiment turned out of the town,
and took up their position with the rest of
the division on a plain some distance behind
it. The morning was uncommonly beautiful ;
the sun shone bright and warm ; the various
odoriferous shrubs, which were scattered
profusely around, perfumed the air, and the
woods rang with the song of birds.

" The Light Division and cavalry falling
back, followed by the columns of the French,
the various divisions of the army assembling

160 British Regiments at the Front

on the plain from different quarters, their
arms glittering in the sun ; bugles blowing,
drums beating, the various staff officers
galloping about to different parts of the line
giving orders, formed a scene which realized
to my mind all that I had ever read of feats
of arms, or the pomp of war — a scene which
no one could behold unmoved, or without
feeling a portion of that enthusiasm which
always accompanies ' deeds of high daring * ;
a scene justly conceived, and well described
by Moore, in the beautiful song ; —

Oh, the sight entrancing

When the morning's beam is glancing

O'er files array'd

With helm and blade
And plumes in the gay wind dancing I

" Our position was now taken up in such
a way that our line ran along the frontiers
of Portugal, maintaining the blockade of
Almeida by our left, while our right kept

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 161

open the communication with Sabugal, the
place where the last action was fought.

" The French advanced on our position in
three columns, about three o'clock in the after-
noon, and detached a strong body of troops
against Fuentes, which was at this time
occupied as an advance post by the 6oth
Regiment (ist Battalion King's Royal Rifle
Corps), and the light company of our division.
The skirmishers were covered in their ad-
vance by cavalry, in consequence of which
ours were obliged to fall back for greater
safety to some stone fences on the outskirts
of the village, while a party of our German
hussars covered their retreat.

" The cavalry now commenced skirmishing,
the infantry keeping up an occasional fire.
It was rather remarkable that the cavalry on
both sides happened to be Germans. When
this was understood, volleys of insulting
language, as well as shot, were exchanged
between them. One of our hussars got so
enraged at something one of his opponents

162 British Regiments at the Front

said, that, raising his sword, he dashed
forward upon him into the very centre of
their line. The insulting hussar, seeing that
he had no mercy to expect from his enraged
foe, wheeled about his horse, and rode to the
rear. The other, determined on revenge,
still continued to follow him. The whole
attention, on both sides, was drawn for a
moment to these two, and a temporary
cessation of firing took place. The French
stared in astonishment at our hussar's
temerity, while our men were cheering him
on. The chase continued for some way to
the rear of their cavalry. At last, our
hussar, coming up with him, fetched a
furious blow, and brought him to the
ground.

" Awakening now to a sense of the danger
he had thrown himself into, he set his horse
at full speed to get back to his comrades, but
the French, who were confounded when he
passed, had recovered their surprise, and,
determined on avenging the death of their

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 163

comrade, they joined in pursuit, firing their
pistols at him. The poor fellow was now in a
hazardous plight ; they were every moment
gaining upon him, and he had still a long way
to ride. A band of the enemy took a circuit
for the purpose of intercepting him, and
before he could reach the line, he was sur-
rounded, and would have been cut to pieces,
had not a party of his comrades, stimulated
by the wish to save so brave a fellow, rushed
forward, and arrived just in time, by making
the attack general, to save his life, and
brought him off in triumph.

" The overwhelming force which the French
now pushed forward on the village could not
be withstood by the small number of troops
which defended it ; they were obliged to
give way, and were fairly forced to a rising
ground on the other side, where stood a
small chapel. The French now thought they
had gained their point, but they were soon
undeceived, for, being reinforced at this
place by the Portuguese cacadores, our

164 British Regiments at the Front

lads came to the right-about, and attacked

them with such vigour that in a short time

they were driven back to their old ground.

While retreating through the town, one of

our sergeants, who had run up the wrong

street, being pushed hard by the enemy, ran

into one of the houses ; they were close at

his heels, and he had just time to wrench

open the door of a cupboard in a recess and

tumble himself into a large chest, when they

entered and commenced plundering the

house, expressing their wonder, at the same

time, concerning the sudden disappearance

of the ' Anglois ' whom they had seen run

into the house. During the time the poor

sergeant lay sweating and half smothered

they were busy breaking open everything

that came in their way, looking for plunder,

and they had just discovered the concealed

door of his hiding-place when the noise of

our men cheering, as they charged the enemy

through the town, forced them to take

flight. The sergeant now got out, and

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 165

having joined his company, assisted in driving
the French back.

" No other part of the line had as yet been
attacked by the French ; they seemed bent
on taking the village of Fuentes in the first
place, as a stepping-stone, and the main
body of each army lay looking at each other.
Finding that the force they had sent down,
great as it was, could not keep possession of
the place, they sent forward two strong
bodies of fresh troops to re-attack it, one
of which, composed of the Irish Legion,
dressed in red uniform, was at first taken
for a British regiment, and they had time
to form up, and give us a volley before the
mistake was discovered.

" The village was now vigorously attacked
by the enemy at two points, and with such
a superior force, that, in spite of the un-
paralleled bravery of our troops, they were
driven back, contesting every inch of the
ground.

" On our retreat through the village, we

166 British Regiments at the Front

were met by the 7ist Regiment, cheering
and led on by Colonel Cadogan, which had
been detached from the line to our support.
The chase was now turned, and although
the French were obstinately intent on keeping
their ground, and so eager that many of
their cavalry had entered the town and
rushed furiously down the streets, all their
efforts were in vain ; nothing could with-
stand the charge of the gallant 7ist, and
in a short time, in spite of all resistance,
they cleared the village."

[This regiment (ist Battalion Highland Light
Infantry) was always remarkable for its gallantry.
The brave Cadogan well knew the art of render-
ing his men invincible ; he knew that the courage
of the British soldier is best called forth by
associating it with his country, and he also
knew how to time the few words which pro-
duced such magical effects.]

" We were now once more in possession of
the place, but our loss, as well as that of

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 167

the French, had been very great. In par-
ticular places of the village, where a stand
had been made, or the shot brought to bear,
the slaughter had been immense. The
French, enraged at being thus baffled in all
their attempts to attack the town, sent
forward a force composed of the very flower
of their army, but they gained only a tem-
porary advantage, for, being reinforced by
the 7Qth Regiment — although the contest
remained doubtful until night — we remained
in possession of it, with the exception of a
few houses on the rise of the hill at the French
side. The light brigade of our division was
now withdrawn, and the yist and 79th
Regiments remained as a picquet in it during
the night. Next morning it was again
occupied as before. On the 4th both sides
were busily employed burying the dead
and bringing in the wounded, French and
English promiscuously mixed, and assisted
each other in that melancholy duty, as if
they had been intimate friends. . . . During

168 British Regiments at the Front

this day, the French generals reconnoitred
our position, and next morning (the 5th),
they made a movement to their left with
two strong columns. This caused a corre-
sponding movement in our lines, and it was
scarcely made, when they attacked our
right, composed of the 7th Division, with
all their cavalry, and succeeded in turning
it, but they were gallantly met by some
squadrons of our dragoons, and repulsed.
Their columns of infantry still continued
to advance on the same point, and were
much galled by the heavy fire kept up on
them by the 7th Division, but in consequence
of this movement, our communication with
Sabugal was abandoned for a stronger
position, and our army was now formed in
two lines, the Light Division and cavalry
in reserve. This manoeuvre paralysed their
attack on our line, and their efforts were
chiefly confined to partial cannonading, and
some charges with their cavalry, which were
received and repulsed by the 3rd Regiment

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 169

of Guards in one instance ; but, as they
were falling back, they did not perceive the
charge of a different body of the enemy's
cavalry in time to form, and many of them
were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
Colonel Hill, who commanded the picquets,
was among the latter ; the 42nd Regiment
(The Black Watch) also, under Lord Blantyre,
gallantly repulsed another charge made by
the enemy's cavalry. The Frenchmen then
attempted to push a strong body of light
infantry down the ravine to the right of
the ist Division, but they were driven back
by some companies of the Guards and 95th
Rifles (now the " Rifle Brigade.")

" While on the right this was going on,
the village of Fuentes was again attacked
by a body of the Imperial Guard, and, as
on the 3rd, the village was taken and
retaken several times. At one time they
had brought down such an overwhelming
force that our troops were fairly beat out of

the town, and the French formed a close

t*

170 British Regiments at the Front

column between it and us. Some guns
which were posted on the rise in front of
our line, having opened upon them, made
them change their ground, and the 88th
Regiment (Connaught Rangers) being de-
tached from our division, led on by the heroic
General McKinnon (who commanded our
right brigade), charged them furiously, and
drove them back through the village with
great slaughter.

" Some time previous to this, General
Picton had had occasion to check this regi-
ment for some little plundering affair they
had been guilty of, and he was so offended
at their conduct that, in addressing them,
he had told them they were the greatest
' blackguards ' in the army. But, as he
was always as ready to give praise as censure,
where it was due, when they were returning
from this gallant and effective charge, he
exclaimed, c Well done, the brave 88th ! '
Some of them who had been stung at his
former reproaches cried out, ' Are we the

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 171

greatest blackguards in the army now ? '
The valiant Picton smiled, and replied :
' No, no, you are brave and gallant soldiers ;
this day has redeemed your character/

" At one time during the contest, when
the enemy had gained a partial position of
the village, our light troops had retired into
a small wood above it, where they were
huddled together without any regularity
(a French officer, while leading on his men,
having been killed in our front), a bugler of
the 83rd Regiment (now ist Battalion Irish
Rifles) starting out between the fire of both
parties, seized his gold watch ; but he had
scarcely returned, when a cannon shot
from the enemy came whistling past him,
and he fell lifeless on the spot. The blood
spurted out of his nose and ears, but
with the exception of this, there was
neither wound nor bruise on his body —
the shot had not touched him.

;t The phenomenon here described has
been the subject of much discussion among

172 British Regiments at the Front

medical men ; some attribute it to the shot
becoming electrical, and parting with its
electricity in passing the body, while others
maintain that the ball does strike the indi-
vidual obliquely, and although there is no
appearance of injury on the surface, there
always exists serious derangement of the
system internally.

" We had regained possession of the village
a short time after, and got a little breathing
time. . . . After the various takings and re-
takings of the village, night again found us
in possession of it. On the 6th, no attempt
was made to renew the attack, and, as on
the 4th, the army on each side was employed
burying the dead, and looking after the
wounded. On the 7th, we still remained
quiet, but on this day the whole French
army were reviewed on the plain by Massena.
On the 8th, the French sentries were with-
drawn at daylight, the main body of the
enemy having retired during the night to
the woods between Fuentes and Gallejos,

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 173

On the gth they broke up, and retired from
their position, and on the loth they had re-
crossed the Agueda without having accom-
plished the relief of Almeida."

Full of interest and significance as was the
battle of Fuentes d'Onoro, it remains that the
most sanguinary and glorious battle of the
Peninsular War, as far as the soldiers were con-
cerned, was that of Albuera where, on May i6th,
the skilful Soult was defeated by Beresford, with
tremendous slaughter.

Just as the battle of Fuentes arose out of the
determination of Massena to save Almeida, so
that of Albuera was owing to Soult's desire to
save Badajoz, which was in siege by Beresford.
Wellington was returning victorious from the
north to join Beresford, but, before he arrived,
the bloodiest battle of the Peninsula was over.

Before the siege of Badajoz was well compacted
Soult came up with a superior force, and Beresford
decided to raise the siege and stake the issue on

174 British Regiments at the Front

a pitched battle. The Allies took up their
position on the ridge of Albuera, some 28,000
strong, including 10,000 half-trained Spaniards,
who were something between a hindrance and a
help. Soult's force consisted of 19,000 picked
infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and fifty guns.

It is the very climax and turning point of this
fight that interests us here. It came at a time
when Houghton's Brigade, being practically
worsted in an assault on the ridge, were failed by
Beresford, but succoured by Colonel Hardinge,
who, on his own responsibility, ordered the advance
of General Cole's Division against the enemy.
This, the 4th Division, consisting mainly of
British fusiliers, succeeded in turning the tide of
battle. Cole himself led the fusiliers up the hill,
on the crest of which the French with their
artillery were stationed in force ; and, as if that
were not superiority enough, the whole of Soult's
reserve was advancing in mass to support the
columns on the ridge. Houghton's Brigade held
on in what seemed a losing fight. The ground
was heaped with dead, and the Polish lancers

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 175

were beginning to gather round the British guns.
The brigade saw defeat and destruction staring
it in the face. But they endured for sheer
tenacity's sake, not knowing that but a few
moments more mattered everything. The Royal
Welsh Fusiliers swept steadily upwards, attacked
the savage lancers, charged their gathering hosts,
and put the enemy to rout. It was Houghton's
Brigade that had borne the brunt, but it was
the Welsh Fusiliers that decided the victory.

Napier has pictured this glorious passage of
arms so vividly that it is no man's presumptuous
task to describe it independently. " Such a
gallant line/' he says, " issuing from the midst
of smoke, and rapidly separating itself from the
confused and broken multitude, startled the
enemy's heavy masses which were increasing and
pressing onwards as to an assured victory. They
wavered, hesitated, and then, vomiting forth a
storm of fire, hastily endeavoured to enlarge
their front, while a fearful discharge of grape
from all their artillery whistled through the
British ranks. Sir William Myers was killed.

176 British Regiments at the Front

Cole, and the three Colonels : Ellis, Blakeney,
and Hawkshawe, fell wounded, and the fusilier
battalions, struck by the iron tempest, reeled
and staggered like sinking ships. Suddenly and
sternly recovering, they closed on their terrible
enemies, and then was seen with what a strength
and majesty the British soldier fights. In vain did
Soult, by voice and gesture, animate his French-
men; in vain did the hardiest veterans, extri-
cating themselves from the crowded columns,
sacrifice their lives to gain time for the mass to
open out on such a fair field ; in vain did the
mass itself bear up, and, fiercely arising, fire
indiscriminately upon friends and foes, while
the horsemen hovering on the flank, threatened
to charge the advancing line. Nothing could
stop that astonishing infantry. No sudden burst
of undisciplined valour, no nervous enthusiasm
weakened the stability of their order ; their
flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns in
their front ; their measured tread shook the
ground ; their dreadful volleys swept away the
head of every formation ; their deafening shouts

Fuentes D'Onoro and Albuera 177

overpowered the dissonant cries that broke
from all parts of the tumultuous crowd as, foot
by foot, and with a horrid carnage, it was driven
by the incessant vigour of the attack to the
farthest edge of the hill. In vain did the French
reserves, joining with the struggling multitudes,
endeavour to sustain the fight ; their efforts
only increased the irremediable confusion, and
the mighty mass, giving way like a loosened
cliff, went headlong down the ascent. The
rain flowed after in streams discoloured with
blood, and 1,500 un wounded men, the remnant
of 6,000 unconquerable British soldiers, stood
triumphant on the fatal hill."

It must be added to this classic word- picture
of the fight on the ridge that Marshal Beresford
in his despatch to Lord Wellington, dated Albuera,
i8th May, said, " It was observed that our dead,
particularly the 57th Regiment (the " Die Hards "
of Albuera), were lying as they had fought in
the ranks, and that every wound was in front."

BALACLAVA AND INKERMAN

" The Cavalry do as they like to the enemy until
they are confronted by thrice their numbers. . . .

" Our Artillery has never been opposed to less
than three or four times their numbers." — Sir John
French at the Front.

THE majority of the Expeditionary Forces now at
the front carry in their hearts if not on their
standards the glorious legends of Balaclava and
of Inkerman. At a time when it has become so
evident that the tendency of the Prussian mili-
tary system is to crush individual initiative, while
that of the British system is to encourage it on
equal terms with a free and unhesitating obedience
to the will of the commander, the battles of Bala-
clava and Inkerman are of peculiar significance,
for, while Balaclava contains a glorious instance

of blind obedience, Inkerman stands alone as a
17*

Balaclava and Inkerman 179

sanguinary conflict in which, to quote an eye-
witness, " every man was his own general." For
this reason it has been called a " soldiers' battle,"
and as such it forms a useful example, not only
of the fine behaviour of our soldiers when thrown
on the limit of their own individual resources, but
also of the self-reliant valour and do-or-die spirit
that has brought them through so many desper-
ately prolonged struggles before and since. The
fact that Inkerman was fought and won in a thick
fog makes it all the more wonderful and satis-
factory that the units, and even individuals, of
our army on that occasion co-operated well
within the boundaries of a sound and discreet
initiative. Many full descriptions have been
given of Balaclava and Inkerman. Our space
here will not allow of more than a brief account
of some of the glorious deeds on those fields of
victory.

On October 25th, 1885, the Russians made a
bold attempt to take Balaclava, and the tale of
their defeat is the immortal tale of two of the
finest cavalry charges ever known in the history

180 British Regiments at the Front

of war. Immortalised in verse by Tennyson,
the "Charge of the Light Brigade" is a deed
bringing honour and glory for all time ; yet the
charge of the Heavy Brigade earlier on the same
day was an affair even more deadly to the enemy
and more responsible for the final victory.

At the first attack of the Russians the 93rd
(Sutherland) Highlanders were called upon to
face them and defend the foremost approach.
Eight Squadrons of General Scarlett's Heavy
Brigade on the left wing were at once ordered to
then: assistance. Of these the Scots Greys and
Inniskillings were diverted to check the advance
of a body of Russian cavalry 3,000 strong, which
was descending from the hill into the valley. It
all happened on the spur of the moment. As
soon as Scarlett became aware of the meaning
of those 3,000 of the enemy he made up his mind
in a flash. It was one of the intuitions that
determine the fortune of war. " Left wheel into
line ! " and the Greys and Inniskillings were
ready. They saw the cause and understood the
intention. They wheeled into line, and as they

Balaclava and Inkerman 181

formed up with quick, cool decision, the Russians
paused, as if to calculate, some 500 paces away.
" Charge ! " And the Greys and Inniskillings,
with Scarlett at their head, thundered forward
on the enemy.

It was a gallant and almost desperate under-
taking, for the two squadrons were greatly out-
numbered by the opposing force ; but it was
so sudden, unexpected and headlong, that the
Russians were thrown into hesitation and scarcely
knew on the spur of the moment the best way to
meet it. After the terrible clash of meeting they
could do no more than try to close in on the
English, and in this, by dint of superior numbers,
they must in the end have wiped our men out
had it not been that in the very thick of it help
came from several sides. First, small detach-
ments of other " Heavies " came up rapidly and
fell upon the enclosing Russians so fiercely that
their plan was weakened. Then a whole squadron
of Inniskillings from our right swept down on
the enemy's left and completely frustrated its
encircling movement. Finally, from different

182 British Regiments at the Front

quarters, the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards and
the Royals came up like a whirlwind, and the
result of it all was a fight of the wildest and most
terrible kind. In the thick of it were Scarlett
and his two squadrons, and the enemy were cut
up and swept away like chaff before the terrible
onslaught within and without, until at last they
broke and fled in utter confusion back over the
crest of the hill. So, in glorious victory, ended
the Charge of the Heavy Brigade, a splendid feat
of generalship and valour which, though unsung
by Laureates, nevertheless throws a tremendous
weight of tradition into the spirit of the " Heavies "
who, with three of their regiments — the Scots
Greys, and the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, are
to-day repeating such deeds at the front without
being aware that they are doing anything extra-
ordinary.

The Charge of the Light Brigade is a matter
that all the world knows while all the world
wonders — in one sense, that it was ever under-
taken, and, in another, that mortal flesh and
blood could dare so desperate and unwarlike a

Balaclava and Inkerman 183

deed at the behest of discipline and still succeed in
turning it to glorious account. What happened is
household reading, but who could be restrained
from relating it, and who can refrain from reading
it yet once more ?

The Light Brigade, with the I3th Light
Dragoons and the I7th Lancers in the first line,
the nth Hussars in the second, and the 4th
Light Dragoons and the 8th Hussars in the third,
was drawn up two deep as soon as the ambiguous
order arrived. The Heavy Brigade was in readi-
ness to support, with Lord Lucan commanding
in person the Greys and Royals. A brief question
as to the meaning of the order and a quick reply
that it was no time to question, but merely to
obey, and then the trumpet rang out for the
charge. It had no uncertain sound and every
man prepared to do and die as they went down
the hill with Lord Cardigan at their head at a
speed approaching twenty miles an hour. Sheets
of flame, and a hail of lead, leapt out upon their
flanks from the Russian infantry. Captain Nolan
darted out across their front, shouting and waving

184 British Regiments at the Front

his sword in the futile effort to explain that it was
all a mistake. But their minds were made up
and they did not heed or could not understand
his gestures, at so swift a pace ; and then, swifter
still, a fragment of shell tore its way through
Nolan's heart and his horse wheeled and bore
him, dead, but still upright, through the advancing
ranks before he fell.

Meanwhile the brigade hurled forward, through
the dense pall of smoke before the guns, into that
dreadful impact which has shown the nations
for ever what our heroes can do. Those who
passed between the shot and shell passed also
between the guns, sabring the gunners as they
went, until they launched upon the squadron
beyond. Then ensued a mighty conflict for the
possession of the guns. While those in the first
line fought fiercely with the enemy's cavalry the
second and third lines thundered in and made
their business plain. It was to silence the guns,
and with all the courage of their kind they did
it. Their tracks could be traced next day on
the field by the lines of dead whose heads were not

Balaclava and Inkerman 185

left upon their bodies, or were cloven " from the
nave to the chaps." The fight was unequal, but
they did not seem to realise it, for they fought
their way back with a persistency that sent an
undying thrill through all the world. These
heroes fought on, and would have done so to the
last drop had it not been for a timely charge of
the French Chasseurs d'Afrique upon the pressing
hosts of the enemy. Thus they were extricated—
all that were left of them. " Then they rode
back " — some 170 in formation.

When they lined up in their original position
and Lord Cardigan counted them in a glance, he
said " Men, it was a mad-brained trick, but it was
no fault of mine." Later, when the French
General was asked his opinion, he replied, " It
was magnificent, but it was not war/' Later
still, when Lord Cardigan came home, Queen
Victoria asked him simply, " Where is my army ? "
Yet, though critics may speak of " absolute
inutility," and calculating militarists of " sheer
waste of life," it still remains that the crowning
glory of the Light Brigade,, born that day at

186 British Regiments at the Front

Balaclava, has outlived all the survivors of that
deathless fray, and will still live on when the
sword of the conquered has been beaten once
more into the ploughshare of peace. Ask any
man of the nth Hussars fighting at the front
to-day what he thinks about the Charge of the
Light Brigade, and, whatever he says, he will
stand an inch higher while saying it. And so
it is with the nation. In these days, from the
Secretary for War to the latest recruit — even to
the humblest non-combatant grimly enduring —
we are greater, stronger, more whole-hearted for
the memory of that glorious episode. It is far
reaching. It is immortal.

" When can their glory fade ?
Oh ! the wild charge they made !

All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Light Brigade ;

Noble Six Hundred 1 "

Ten days had elapsed since their defeat at

Balaclava and Inkerman 187

Balaclava when the Russians planned an over-
whelming attack on our besieging army. Their
objective was Mount Inkerman, their methods
were secret, and their men 60,000. The event
shows that they hoped, by sending a strong
force to the west of Sevastopol and some
20,000 men to engage our army in the field,
to carry Inkerman, and so compel us to raise
the siege.

Through the mists of the cold November
morning the Russians, stirred to the highest
enthusiasm by the priests, advanced on Inker-
man, and a fight of the most desperate character
ensued. Our Second Division, sore pressed by
overwhelming numbers, was suffering heavily,
when, notwithstanding the fog, the enemy's
strategy became apparent, and the Rifle Brigade
were sent hurrying up from the field to their
assistance. The 50th followed, and the battle
round Inkerman, now a trifle less unequal, eddied
and swirled and locked, turning now in favour
of one side and now the other. All sides belched
flame and in turn were bespattered with lead.

188 British Regiments at the Front

Here a heap of Russian slain, and there, through
a rift of the mist, a fitful gleam of serried bayonets.
The British broke ranks and formed squares, and,
in this formation, every square found work of
its own in repelling the fierce and sudden rushes
of the enemy. A couple of i8-pounders were
brought up and long gaps were hewn out of the
deep ranks of the attacking host. Small groups
found antagonists by instinct in the mist and
fought to a finish on their own. Commanders
became fighting-men, and every fighting-man
his own commander. It rested with each and all
who had in common, not only the fog, but a
general purpose, to see that they kept their place
between anything Russian and the summit of
Inkerman; and, in the process of this, hand-to-
hand combats as heroic as any in the Trojan War
were joined. " A series of dreadful deeds of
daring," says Davenport Adams, " of sanguinary
hand-to-hand fights, of despairing rallies, of
desperate assaults in glens and valleys, in brush-
wood and glades and remote dales, from which
the conquerors issued only to engage fresh foes,

Balaclava and Inkerman 189

till the old supremacy, so readily assailed, was
again triumphant and the battalions of the Czar
gave way before our steady courage and the
chivalrous fire of France."

Wymnn «• Sonj Lt4., Printtn, London and Reading.

DA Hodder, William Reginald

65 British regiments at the

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